From the Well to the Pit, with Love
by trekgatewars5
Summary: Who does the Deep Space Telemetry Department under Cheyenne Mountain turn to for help? The Fort Wadsworth Chaplain's Assistant's School Motor Pool, of course. Reviews welcome. Standard disclaimers apply, no profit is being taken from this story and it is intended solely for the enjoyment of its readers.
1. Jack & Joe and a Ring of Water

From the Well, to the Pit, with Love.

Who does the Deep Space Telemetry team under Cheyenne Mountain turn to for help? The Fort Wadsworth Chaplain's Assistants' School Motor Pool, of course.

No "Yo, Joe" battle cries.

Set during the SG-1 pilot "Children of the gods", after O'Neill's team returned with Daniel Jackson from Abydos where hostile attack led to the capture of Jackson's wife, Sha'uri (the original movie spelling and pronunciation of her name), and his brother-n-law, Skaara.

The Joe setting is prior to the Marvel 'A Real American Hero' series, #1, also known as the Hama-verse. This story also includes Hama's information from G. I. Joe: Declassified, produced by DD, where he tells the origins of the Joe team, including additional characters.

'Welcome to the Well' was what Dr. Langford said to Jackson when he arrived on site at the Creek Mountain location in the Stargate motion picture. It is never again referred to by this name, either in the series or in the movie. In some movie cuts the phrase is omitted, though it is included in the movie transcript. The Pit, is the GI Joe headquarters as originally conceived by Larry Hama.

Of course, I neither own Stargate nor GIJoe, nor will gain profit by this story. This is solely intended for the enjoyment of the readers, and myself.

* * *

General Hammond already expressed his reticence to use the gate. The President had over-ruled him, and now Hammond believed they were in real trouble. O'Neill had led two off-world encounters, and both trips had resulted in casualties. The third encounter was the alien incursion into the "Well" that had killed four men, and taken one woman, Sgt. Carol Weterings, prisoner. They had left a bitter taste in Hammond's mouth. O'Neill's brash assurances during the briefing that morning were not helping. Yes, O'Neill and Dr. Jackson had destroyed an alien starship, but that almost seemed more like luck than anything.

Hammond picked up the phone and dialed the Pentagon. He told an operator, "General Ike Austin, please." Moments later he heard a recording telling him, in General Austin's voice, that his phone call would be returned. "He must be in one of those meetings behind an unmarked door, " thought Hammond. 'Ole' Iron Butt' Austin had a reputation for being up to his ears in top secret organizations, something Hammond knew about himself these days.

An hour later, Hammond got a call back from General Austin. After catching up on the scores for their grandkid's soccer games, Austin got down to business. "What can I do for you George?"

Hammond resisted using Austin's nickname. "Ike, I hear you've been doing some work extra projects on the side. I could use some help."

"So the Deep-Space Telemetry department under Cheyenne Mountain is asking for help from the Fort Wadsworth Chaplain Assistants' School Motor Pool," retorted Austin.

"Yup," said Hammond with his big Texas voice, adding "that's quite a mouthful, Ike."

" 'CASMoP' is better on the tongue. Your chaplains' assistants must be hard on their cars," sniped Austin.

"Some things can get pretty ugly out here. I need those, um, chaplains up and running, Ike."

"I don't just send my chaplains' mechanics anywhere, George."

"This is big, Ike. If you don't send them, we could all regret it," said Hammond, almost pleading with the Army general. Hammond added, "Ike, I need the best."

"What kind of trouble have you gotten us into George?" General Austin asked rhetorically. "This group is the best, but as a team their raw, George. They haven't had a mission together yet. Tomorrow morning soon enough?"

"Can you get them here by 5, for briefing at 6, and…um, work at 7."

"Larry Flagg will see to the details. We've learned a lot since that fiasco in Mogadishu, about cars of course. Clay Abernathy will lead the team."

"Larry's a good man. He did good work on Schwartzkopf's staff, and then in Somalia. Not familiar with Abernathy. Thanks, Ike."

"You're welcome George. I will have access to Abernathy's report after fixing your cars, right?"

"I'll run it by the President."

"That serious?"

"Yup, bye, Ike."

"Bye, George." And with that, both generals get their teams ready for the next morning.

* * *

0430 Hours EST, Cheyenne Mountain Complex: 27th Level Conference Room

"Colonel, I will not hear another complaint. I have gotten you help, and they are going with you," said a frustrated General Hammond, almost yelling at Colonel O'Neill. Hammond continued, "Now, here are the dossiers General Flagg sent. I want you familiar with each them and their specialties before they arrive."

Captain Carter opened her copy of the file as a frustrated O'Neill sat down, and she began reading out loud, "Special Operational Detachment: Delta. Code name: G. I. Joe".

Kowalski added, "It looks like 13 SF's, almost a standard A-Team with a driver". He still had a grin on his face from watching O'Neill's interaction with the general.

O'Neill looked through the names. "Abernathy, Barney, Freistadt, Gambello, Graves, Kibbey, McConnel, Melendez, O'Hara, Pulaski, Snakeyes…What kind of name is Snakeyes? What could be so secret that a guy in a military unit using a chaplain's assistants' school's motor pool as cover that is name still needs to be classified? How could this guy's identity be more secret than a unit that visits other planets through a large metal ring?" They all took a closer look at the mysterious file. O'Neill continued, "Filename: Classified, Birthplace: Classified, face: Classified. I'll bet his fingerprints, shoe size, morning meal, and baseball card collection are all classified too."

Carter pointed, "His file quotes a former commander saying he is the best."

Kowalski responded, "That's not classified."

"All right," butted in Jack, "let's look these over. Where's Danny?" Looking around the table Jack noticed Carter, Kowalski, and the other members of SG-2, but no Jackson.

General Hammond poked his head in, "Oh, Dr. Jackson is taking care of prep work for Colonel Abernathy. I am not sure when he'll be meeting up with you. Oh, and from this moment on, we will refer to these G.I. Joes by their codenames." And then he stepped back out. Hammond did not know Colonel Abernathy, but if Iron Butt Austin trusted him, then Hammond was hopeful .

"Well, let's start with Abernathy, codename: Hawk," started O'Neill.

* * *

0300 Hours EST. Over an hour prior to the conversation above, in a C-130 somewhere above the Central Time Zone.

"O'Neill. He's a loose cannon. He's sarcastic, irreverent, and borderline insubordinate," commented Scarlett. "He lost his son, and then this General …what's his name, West puts us in this position of having to travel with him."

"Remember your place, Sergeant. He is an officer, and he does get the job done. You will show proper respect, is that clear."

"Yes, sir. But are we sure he didn't start the mess?" She countered.

"That doesn't matter now Scarlett, we're here to help with this mess, and we will be working together. Listen, are you familiar with Air Force Special Tactics?"

"Yes, sir. They are the Air Force's version of the Delta Force, or the Seals."

"O'Neill belongs to one of these units. Air Force S. T.'s are usually recruited from the other branches like the Army's Rangers, Marine Force Recon, or the Seals because the Air Force does not have ground combat units. He was a fighter jock who got himself admitted into the S. T.'s by sheer tenacity. He was the equivalent of a SF company commander in Iraq during the war and one of his teams got cut off. He led the rescue mission when he could have turned it over to another team in his unit, or called in another branch. He's got trouble, but he'll come through. He won't leave anyone behind." Scarlett now sat quietly. Which O'Neill would they get, the hero or the mess?

Scarlett's train of thought was interrupted. "Hay, check this out, Captain Samantha Carter. Fighter jock with a degree in theo-theore-retical astro-physics," read Rock'n'Roll, stumbling over the words.

"That means she's smarter than you," quipped Stalker. "So leave her alone."

In another part of the C-130, several other Joes were working to modify a tank. "I bet they've done it. I bet the Air Force has contacted aliens and their now on our world, just like Von Daniken predicted. They've contacted us, and now we're being called in because one got loose," said an excited Grand Slam.

"Just what have you been reading?" questioned Breaker.

"Well, for one, an Egyptologist by the name of Dr. Daniel Jackson," responded Grand Slam, "If you had looked at the Air Force dossiers you would have seen his name there as a civilian advisor."

"Since when have you been interested in Egypt…anything? You're usually reading comic books and watching Star Trek, you Geek," said Steeler.

"Since Dr. Jackson wrote about aliens using the pyramids as landing pads," Grand Slam retorted. "I admit, I thought it was non-sense too, but I liked the possibilities for a good TV series. But now, who knows?"

"Great, so now some archeologist found aliens, and we've got to go hunt down Predator," said Grunt.

"Don't worry about Predator, you just finish this tank," interrupted Stalker, just arriving from the passenger compartment. "Hawk sent me to check on your modifications. How's it coming?"

"Well," answered Steeler, "this M551 Sheridan was the prototype for the single-operator MoBaT. It'll be ready in an hour. It would help if I knew why we needed to use this older version. I realize that it's need to know, but the M-1 we were working on is a better tank than this one."

"I heard less than you did, but this Sheridan is closer to the dimensions we'll need," responded Stalker, who then saluted the Lieutenant.

"I'm glad we brought the extra help, pfc Kreiger here has been very helpful," responded Steeler, ignoring the sergeants salute, something Stalker expected. Up popped the head of a woman covered in grease. The Joes needed help completing modifications to the tank in a hurry. A local tank troop CO suggested her. She had been dismantling a broken track on a Bradley when Steeler co-opted her from the tank company's motor-pool to fly to Colorado. She was already a mess when he picked her up from the motor pool. Her face, and mechanics jumpsuit were covered in black grease. Her hair was so greasy the Joes were not sure if black was her original color or not. She had a huge smile on her face behind the soot that exposed her teeth, also covered in grease.

"45 minutes until landing. Please prepare to strap your-selves in, and secure all loose items," called the captain on the C-130s overhead.

* * *

0315 Aboard a proto-type XP-14F modified Tomcat, codenamed "Skystriker".

"We are 15 minutes out from Colorado Springs, Ma'am. Your call is scheduled in 5 minutes," announced the pilot, Captain Brad Armbruster .

"Thank you, Captain. And don't call me, Ma'am. I'm a sergeant, I work for a living," responded the young woman. That was more than she had said the whole trip. He, however, had attempted to talk her ears off.

"Now, why would the brass send an enlisted woman alone on an experimental flight three quarters of the way across the country," asked the pilot. He had noticed she carried no rank insignia. He added, "And what is your name again."

"You know the drill. Besides, why is a fighter jock going for an interview in Deep-Space Telemetry."

"Yeah, Yeah. If you tell me, you have to blah, blah, blah. Well, I guess we both have our secrets."

"Cheyenne Mountain calling Ace, do you copy," came the call from the mountain base.

"Ace here, I'm ready to patch you through," answered Captain Armbruster to his call sign.

"And turn off your ears. This conversation is classified," said the powerful voice.

"Yes, Sir," snapped the pilot.

"Can you hear me soldier?" said the voice, now only heard by the plane's passenger.

"Yes, Sir, loud and clear," responded the young woman.

"Everything you are about to hear is classified. Please respond with your codename," continued the voice.

"Shooter," was the woman's sole response.

"Good, my name is General Hammond, United States Air Force. When you arrive in Colorado Springs, you will be picked up by an escort and Dr. Daniel Jackson." Then General Hammond explained the nature of the Stargate, and her role in the mission. Ace listened quietly, hearing nothing. He brought the plane down to the runway and was taxiing before he realized the conversation was over. He did notice that the woman's face was a little pale. "You okay? It wasn't my flying was it?" She did not respond.

As Ace pulled into his designated parking place, a black suv pulled up, and out stepped a young man in civilian clothes. The young man had long hair and glasses. As they parked, both Shooter, and Ace noticed him. "He looks a little out of place, doesn't he?" said Armbruster, almost mocking the archeologist. "Spook?" said Armbruster, referring to the young man possibly being CIA. Shooter remained quiet until the canopy popped. The young man approached the plane.

"This must be your ride, huh?" Asked the pilot. The woman did not respond. "Hay, if you are going by Cheyenne Mountain can I have a ride?

"NO!" shouted both Dr. Jackson and Shooter. Brad feigned a dejected pout and then went about the business of shutting down the experimental fighter.

Shooter carried two large duffle bags over to Dr. Jackson. "Dr. Jackson I presume."

"Um, yes. And you are?" Dr. Jackson responded, mentally noting the ironic phrasing of the young woman's statement.

"That's not important right now. Did everything arrive as I requested?" rushed the woman.

"As far as I know. Now why are we here?"

"I believe you were sent to get me because we are going ahead of the larger group. I am Hawk's Fi-Lo."

"Hawk's Fi-Lo?" Asked Dr. Jackson. He was just now beginning to learn military jargon and this one was new to him. He wasn't concerned with terminology, as long as it got him Sha'uri back.

"Yes, you and I are going in before the rest of the team. According to General Hammond, you will show me how to work the DHD."

"Uhm, okay. Now why are we going ahead?" Puzzled Jackson aloud.

* * *

O'Neill, Carter, Kowalski, and the rest of SG-2 had finished their reading, and taken a break for breakfast. It was now about 0535. SG-2 went to rest while Carter and O'Neill stopped by the gateroom. To their shock, the gate was gone. They rushed up to the conference room to find General Hammond with 3 men and one woman.

O'Neill quickly noticed the military demeanor. The African-American in camos with a green beret, the younger man in an armor jumpsuit, the woman with the stark red hair, and the savvy looking man who carried authority like it was his nose. He was not pompous, just confident but respectful.

"Something wrong, Colonel?" asked the General.

"The gate is gone," interrupted Carter.

"Well, I've never seen you this concerned O'Neill. Yes, the gate is gone. We have moved it to a secure location above ground so that these fine soldiers can get their gear into the staging area."

The confident leader stepped up to O'Neill. "Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter: I am Hawk. This is the command team of G. I. Joe: XO-Steeler, senior NCO-Stalker, and Intel NCO-Scarlett. We're glad to be here, and glad to be serving under your command, sir."

O'Neill was perplexed. The man he knew only as a special ops full-bird colonel was sincere. "Um, okay. Thanks. Glad to have you." He wasn't sure how to respond, but he hoped he had pulled off something approximating reciprocal sincerity. O'Neill felt awkward, and could sense similar awkwardness in Hawk's subordinates. Luckily, Kowalski and SG-2 arrived. "Is Danny boy going to be here?" pondered O'Neill out loud.

"He has gone ahead to the co-ordinates provided by Sgt. Feretti. You will meet him when you go through the gate," responded Hammond.

"The gate?" asked Scarlett. O'Neill noted that only an enlisted SF would be so bold in a group of officers.

Steeler sat quietly, kicking himself, knowing that what they were about to hear meant that he was going to have to eat crow for a long time with Grand Slam.

O'Neill let Carter explain the gate, and their three previous experiences with it to the Joes. He only stopped her when he would say, "Dumb down the Trek-babble, Data." She would then apologize and continue.

At first no one asked any questions, then Stalker asked, "Now, why are we going to a different alien planet?"

"Rescue mission," was O'Neill's response.

"Actually," interjected Hammond, "yes. This is a rescue mission. But also, the president has authorized exploration of the gate network, with special emphasis on assessing any threat these aliens pose to earth. Colonel O'Neill has pointed out that these aliens have space crafts and if they are indeed a threat, we will need to forge alliances, and attain technology that will help us defeat them. And quite frankly, I want to know two things: are they as hostile as our previous encounters, or are we ticking them off; and secondly, can we beat them in a fair fight. That's where you come in. General Austin assures me that your team is the best there is, and I want to know we can win."

After a pause the questions began to come. Tactics, weapons, cover fire, command structure: Hawk sat by as Stalker and Scarlett asked most of those questions. As it approached 0630, the questions died down. With one more pause, Steeler asked, "If this gate goes into a pyramid, then why bring a tank?"

It surprised the SG teams that the Joes had brought a tank, but Carter replied, "The gate on earth was found out in the open, we think that others will be that way as well. Dr. Jackson seems to think they are placed in places of worship, like say Stonehenge. If that is so, heavier weapons will be to our advantage."

"All right then," said Hawk, having heard all the explanations, and the answers-usually in the form of "We don't know" to his team's questions- got down to the point. "What's the plan?"

"Before we answer that," posed O'Neill, "what's with this guy, Snakeyes?"

* * *

0655 At an undisclosed location on the grounds of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

Four black suvs pulled up to a large circus size tent in a field. The field was surrounded by woods, and there was a crane near the road at the field's edge. Outside the tent sat a group of men in green uniforms, and one in black. The men all stood at attention as the group got out of their suvs. Hawk led the way over to the men as he was followed by the two SG teams, his own command element, and General Hammond. He led them over to group standing in a perfect row, sharply facing forward. He started on the left and introduced them moving to the right: "Here is Shortfuze, and Breaker, Clutch, Grunt, Zap, Flash, Grand Slam, Rock'n'Roll, and off course Snakeyes." Snakeyes was the only soldier who wore a mask over his face. O'Neill resisted the urge to interview him there, reserving his curiosity for later.

General Hammond chimed, "Pleasure to meet you all, and good luck on your mission."

"Let's get to it, no more dramatics," spoke the mission commander O'Neill.

"Fall out, and into the tent, I will brief you as we make final arrangements," said Hawk. Grand Slam noticed that Steeler was purposely avoiding him.

Inside the tent, the SG teams got their weapons together. Hawk had Grunt open a special crate he had been saving. Hawk then explained to the Joes about the gate, and the plan for their mission. Grand Slam grinned from ear to ear.

"Eat your heart out astronauts, I'm goin' where no man has gone before, and in a jeep," chided Clutch.

"Shut up!" Yelled Short-Fuze. "You have no idea what we are in for."

Rock'n'Roll and Flash could only shake their heads. Zap said something in Spanish. Grunt and Flash kept taking deep breaths as they unpackaged the crate. "Remember those babies we tried out a few weeks ago," Grunt announced.

"Yeah," responded Zap.

"Well here they are." And Grunt held up a rifle that O'Neill and his team had never seen. "The XMLR-3A. I hope these work as well as advertised."

"That's why you will also be bringing your normal weapons as well. Colonel, would you like these in addition to your firearms?" offered Hawk.

O'Neill, Carter, and SG-2 each took a laser-rifle. O'Neill slung his over his shoulder, preferring to use a weapon he trusted. Hawk was pleased to see O'Neill make his own decision. The rest of the SG personnel hesitated, then followed O'Neill's example. Hawk was not fully convinced of the weapon himself. Flash was the only one in the group not to select the weapon. O'Neill noticed him carrying a different weapon. "I assume this is also a laser, what's the difference between this one and these that we're carrying?" he asked.

Flash explained, "Your weapon is hoped to one day be a standard issue weapon. The beam has the relative intensity of an armor-piercing bullet. It burns its target in a burst, like a machine gun. My XMLR-1A is more like a slicer. It's more intense, has more usage, but also is more delicate. Someone will have an extra M-16 for me if it burns out. This baby will slice a two inch concrete wall with no trouble at all."

"Well, okay then. I guess we are already in the space age. I hope these things work," said O'Neill.

Kowalski added, "Now I really feel like Buck Rogers."

Inside the tent O'Neill noticed a tank that looked like it might fit through the stargate. He also noticed two jeeps, and 3 heavy artillery pieces hooked to each vehicle. _Who knows what else these guys brought?_ thought the colonel.

"Well, Colonel, we are late for our departure time. Are we ready?," asked Hawk.

"If you are," responded O'Neill. "Let's go."

The two SG teams entered a separate room in the tent, along with Hawk, Stalker, Scarlett, Snakeyes, Zap and Grunt. The rest of the Joes were to wait for a call that meant that the first group was in trouble, and they needed help. The SG support personnel took down the curtain divide, so that the Joes at their vehicles could see the event. Then the gate began to spin. When it finally stopped and the blue splash emerged from the gate, the Joes just stood shocked. All of them gasped, or awed.

O'Neill noticed that he heard a noise from all except one. Hawk simply said "Let's go." As O'Neill went through the gate he could hear one of the Joes in the background saying, "Yes" repeatedly.

After the SG teams had gone through the gate, Stalker said, "Welcome to Wonderland, Alice."

"I hope we don't run into the Queen of Hearts," responded Zap.

"And I hope we're not following the Mad Hatter," remarked Scarlett quietly, still very skeptical of O'Neill.

Snakeyes went through without hesitation. Scarlett went right behind him. Stalker pushed through like trying to knock down a door. Hawk looked at Zap and Grunt, and then stepped into the vertical pool. Last came Zap and Grunt.

"Godspeed everyone," wished Hammond in a benediction.


	2. Jack and Joes on Chulak

As promised, when O'Neill and Carter stepped through the gate, Daniel Jackson was their waiting for them. O'Neill and Carter moved in from the gate, and were followed by SG-2, and then the Joes.

"Secure the perimeter", shouted O'Neill as the pool of water vanished. The officers all gathered around Dr. Jackson, while the enlisted personnel moved to the perimeter.

"There's a path over there," said Daniel pointing to one of the ridges. "I think it leads to a town."

"Nice to see you too, Danny," said O'Neill, "and have we been playing in the woods by ourselves?" he added, wondering what Hawk had sent him ahead for.

"Um, Yeah. Something like that," responded Jackson, not sure if he should lie to O'Neill. He handed a map to O'Neill. O'Neill, Carter, Jackson and Kowalski all looked at Hawk as he seemed distracted. O'Neill had seen the look before. Hawk did not like something about the surroundings. Then O'Neill realized that the ceremonial grounds were not set up for a mobile operation. He jarred Hawk back to the present when he handed Hawk Jackson's map.

"Thanks for the layout Dr. Jackson," said Hawk. "Could I speak with Dr. Jackson and Colonel O'Neill alone for a moment?" he asked, meaning he wanted Carter and Kowalski to step away, which they did wondering the significance.

"Colonel O'Neill…"

"Call me Jack. It's code name for Jack," responded O'Neill as they stepped over to the rc atv they had brought with them through the gate.

Hawk chuckled, "Okay, Jack it is. As Dr. Jackson will attest, he has not been here alone. I have an operative that came with him earlier to get the lay of the land. She has made a pass around the gate at a radius of a mile. Here is what my operative sent. She saw a fort here through her scope," said Hawk pointing to an almost blank piece of paper which showed the gate at the center, "about a mile and a half from here to the northeast. She is in the center of the triangle in the middle of the fort, a path to a settlement, which lies to the southeast and runs here. The fort houses a large company-slash-small battalion. If something happens, with your permission, I plan to hit the fort with artillery, and also line up the path that leads to the settlement with artillery rounds."

"How have you heard from her?" Hawk simply responded by pointing to an earpiece.

"So you have Snakeyes. Nobody can know his name. And now you tell me you have 'an operative' who is already here, and you're keeping her a secret, even from your own unit." O'Neill was incredulous. Hawk shrugged his shoulders.

"She' good at what she does, but she's an unknown element."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll never find her. She's a sniper. But if she can't pull the trigger, I can't allow her on the team."

"So you have a sniper who can't kill?" This is the first time O'Neill had a reason to doubt the professional Hawk.

"She's done her job so far. When the time comes, she'll do what she needs to."

"But you have your doubts," with that comment from O'Neill, Hawk changed the subject.

"Our recon did not check far enough from the gate. I would like to send Stalker out for recon at a radius of two miles after laying some explosives around the rim of this field. It's a trap in here and we'll need good cover to get out if something goes wrong.

Jackson could not hold it any longer. "Listen, I want to get Sha'uri back, badly. But no one here has been hostile yet."

"Have you met anyone yet?" asked O'Neill.

"Well, no."

"Well Daniel, don't you think it's a good idea to hope for the best, but plan for the worst? And with that in mind, go ahead. Let's plant C-4 around the rim of this bowl, then Hawk, you carry out your plan. Jackson, Carter and I with SG-2 will head toward the village."

"There's one more thing," said Hawk.

"Go ahead," sighed O'Neill.

"This arrangement, the field is not set up to bring firepower through. I'd like to redial Earth, and have them send through something to help us create some space around the gate so we can have a place for our artillery."

Dr. Jackson gasped, but O'Neill stepped in, "I don't think that's the way to win friends and influence people," he announced.

Jackson added, "This is a sacred space for them."

"You think so, Daniel?" O'Neill posed the question.

"Well, it makes sense."

"It might make sense, but it makes more sense to have cover if we need it. Hawk, let's get some good ole' fashion fireworks planted, and we'll make our way into town. Do what you need to do within some semblance of reason."

Everyone got to work. The Joes and the SGC soldiers unloaded C-4 off the atv, and then planted C-4 around the perimeter of the field. The SGC military personnel were surprised at the efficiency with which the Joes worked. Zap provided the expertise and everyone else moved with crisp precision.

Daniel dialed the gate while the military personnel finished with the explosives.

"Send through two ramps, and R & R with his Ram. We'll need some hooks and rope as well. We've got some things to move," Hawk ordered the Joes on Earth as Daniel cringed. The gate went through the necessary process of closing, and then a few minutes later the gate lit up, and the swirl of water burst through the ring. It was followed shortly by two ramps which the Joes moved into place on either side of the platform on which the gate was place. Then Rock'n'Roll came through on a green motorcycle with a machine gun mounted to its side.

O'Neill was impressed Hawk seems to almost have thought of everything, except of course, a sniper who will shoot. Soon SG-1 was on its way to the town with SG-2 and the remote control atv they had brought with them.

After the SGC teams left, Stalker and the recon teams got ready. He and Grunt had brought large covered packs. They opened them to show "Jump" flying backpacks. They carried those as they walked the area to the northwest of the gate. Scarlett and Snakeyes moved out to check the southwestern grid opposite the town.

* * *

The gate was in the center of a large field. The DHD was right in front of the gate, about fifteen yards from the ring. There were rocks in a circular formation surrounding the gate. Hawk couldn't help but think of a church sanctuary. Rock'n'Roll had brought the rope and hooks to turn over the stone benches and hopefully give the Joes enough room if they needed to bring in the big guns.

Zap went up to one of the stones and tried to push it over. "I think two of us could move these over and create a little more room," Zap said. "Of course I could simply blow a few out of the way with my bazooka."

"We'll just move them by rolling them."

Hawk, Zap and Rock'n'Roll worked on the stones in the row closest to the gate. They would take turns riding the motorcycle with the ropes hooked to the cycle, while the other two would push the stones. It took them several hours, but they moved the first row far enough away to give their vehicles some room. They then hid and rested in the cold, waiting to hear from back from everyone out exploring.

SG-1 and 2 moved out along the path toward the town. O'Neill couldn't help but wonder where the other Joe was hiding. He wouldn't have known the name "Shooter" if Daniel had not told him on a whim.

As they moved along, Kowalski pointed to a clearing off the path. "This should be a good place for us to camp tonight."

"Sounds good, Kowalski. Carter, Daniel and I will continue into town, I hope you'll be close enough to bail us out of trouble," replied O'Neill.

"Yes sir, we won't leave you behind."

"If something happens, you make for the gate. I'm counting on you to cooperate with Hawk to get us out of trouble."

"Sure, whatever you say," said Kowalski blithely. It seemed no one believed him.

SG-1 continued on.

SG-1 moved down the path. They received a call from Hawk telling them that a party was coming toward them on the path from the village. O'Neill ordered everyone out of sight. He wasn't sure how he felt knowing that Shooter was watching them. O'Neill, Carter and Jackson hid in the bushes. The party approached the hiding place, and Daniel realized they were probably priests of some kind.

O'Neill could only watch as Jackson stepped out from the hiding place to meet them. Neither O'Neill nor Carter understood the conversation that took place between the priests and Jackson, though they noticed that everyone kept repeating "chop a eye". While O'Neill snickered at his own pun, he knew it referred to the stargate.

Daniel told Carter and O'Neill that they were now invited to "choose". Apparently, their arrival was not a surprise in that the priests knew many guests of honor would be present. O'Neill responded "Choosing is good, let's go choose."

SG-1 followed the priests into town and were led to what appeared to be the residence of the local ruler. Their hosts invited them to sit down at the table with people who looked like dignitaries. Not much was said until a bell rang. O'Neill liked the idea that the dinner bell transcended cultures and languages.

Both groups of Joes reported to Hawk that there were paths that were trodden down, but that the towns, and any military support were far enough not to be seen at the two mile distance Hawk had ordered. After their recon, Hawk moved them both back. Snakeyes and Scarlett were authorized to secure local garments and move toward the settlement where O'Neill had relayed the rough coordinates to Hawk. It was now late morning at the SGC, and things were going too smoothly for Hawk. It would be some time before Scarlett and Snakeyes were in position if O'Neill and Kowalski needed them. This worried the Colonel. He checked in with the SGC with their current status.

* * *

Earlier in the evening:

At the bell, Carter and O'Neill sat wondering what was about to happen. They were wondering aloud what they might be eating when Jackson popped up and ran toward the front of the table.

Both Carter and O'Neill were too late to realize that Sha'uri stood at the end. She stood next to a man that O'Neill quickly recognized from the video as the one who had led the incursion into the "Well". He thought they might be close to finding Sgt. Weterings and Skaara as well.

Jackson ran around the table to Sha'uri, only to be met by the crushing blow of a staff. O'Neill made a quick call into his radio, "Hawk, assume command. Get your back-up through the gate. We have been attacked."

O'Neill and Carter got out of their seats to help Jackson. Carter moved to Jackson and O'Neill stared at the large man who had knocked him down, only to be knocked down from behind. Each of them noticed that Sha'uri's eyes glowed. Her mouth sneered at her husband, beaten and on the floor.

The leader, standing next to Sha'uri, pointed at SG-1 and acted offended. O'Neill recognized the tone, if not the words. Then a guard knocked O'Neill unconscious.

Things began to happen quickly. Hawk radioed the SGC for the prepared backup. Once the gate shut-down so that Earth could re-dial, Stalker radioed Hawk telling him the fort was stirring. It looked like a platoon-size unit was marching for the city. The enemy was now active.

"You and Grunt get ahead of them. Use your jet-packs and beat them to the city. Steeler and his team are already on their way in. I'll need co-ordinates for an artillery strike. Hawk out."

Hawk then radioed Kowalski, "You getting all this?"

"Yes, sir!" he responded.

"I want you to move to a position closer to the city. It sounds like SG-1 has been captured. Snakeyes and Scarlett are monitoring the situation and are almost in position to assist. They will need your cover fire to escape. Scarlett will fill you in on any plans they have."

Kowalski responded, "I'm looking for a fight." He noticed the faith that Hawk put in the young female sergeant. He turned to his SG- 2 teammates, Sgts. Casey and Warren, "Hide the atv, and grab the Stinger missile launcher, I've got a feeling we're going to need it."

The expedition had brought 2 Stinger SAM launchers. Zap had kept the other at the gate. He stood on the eastern ridge of the gate with his LR in hand, and the Stinger right next to him. Rock'n'Roll was out of sight somewhere near the path that lead into the forest. Hawk was at the gate. He had called in the reinforcements, now he was waiting for them so he could place them in the positions that would maximize their firepower.

The gate opened and first came Steeler hauling the HAL with his MoBaT. Then came a Vamp driven by Clutch hauling the FLAK. Then came another Vamp, driven by Breaker, hauling a Mobile Missile System with three rockets. Steeler in his MoBaT and Grand Slam in the HAL, were positioned to cover the ridge to the east. Clutch set up the FLAK, manned by Shortfuze, to fire on any air-craft that might attack.

Hawk ran to the MMS and put a set of co-ordinates into the MMS. He switched his radio to Shooter's channel. "Do you copy?"

_Squelch, _was all that came over the comm. "Let me know when any more formations are ready to leave the fort, primary radio channel," ordered Hawk. Hawk planned to bombard so that only the fewest possible number of troops could reach him from the fort.

Guards carried SG-1 one away from the dinner table and Sha'uri.

Daniel woke up in route. The guards discovered this made him walk the rest of the way to their internment. On the way, Daniel struck up a conversation with the one who seemed to be the chief guard. Jackson thought he seemed sad. Yes, he was sad, but powerful. And he was still holding a staff weapon, aiming it at him. And he was only one of about seven guards.

O'Neill managed to rouse enough to see some interaction between Daniel and the large, darkly colored guard. As they approached a large building, Jackson finally noticed O'Neill's eyes. He spoke to him, "I keep trying to warn him. More of us will come, and we will come with more and more powerful weapons. He just keeps insulting us."

"He's not insulting you, Danny boy. He's actually hoping you're right." Then O'Neill turned to the large man with the gold tattoo on his forehead, "That's right, isn't it."

Something seemed to turn in the large man at this point. O'Neill could see the look in the soldier's eyes. There was some semblance of hope in them. There were almost tears, and a new determination was forming. "Help us," Jack pleaded. Carter was now awake and watched in amazement as it seemed like the alien guard was somehow affected her commanding officer.

For his part, the alien seemed unfazed to Jackson. He only became more brutal. They entered a building with the guard, and he pushed them violently. As they reached a large holding room, the alien shoved them into the bar doors, then knocked them all down in the prison cell. The large man walked over to Jackson and quietly said, "You may get your chance soon." Then he left the prison cell. Sam was largely unhurt. O'Neill could feel all the hits he had taken. "I am too old for this."

Then he heard a sound that was sweet to his ears, "O'Near! Dani-yell!" He recognized Skaara's pronunciation of his name anywhere. Both Skaara and Carter looked at Dr. Jackson and saw blood on his forehead, and his hand reaching for his back. Skaara did not know why they were there, but only that Sha'uri had been taken from the cell earlier.

Jackson could not comprehend why his wife was so cold to his rush towards her even though he had seen her eyes glow. Carter and O'Neill kept their insight to themselves, for now. O'Neill finally and slowly stood up, and saw the room filled with humans, scattered. They were dirty, and like themselves, beaten. Some looked hungry. They were all scared.

"You can beat them, right O'Near," said Skaara. O'Neill did not respond. "You are a mighty warrior."

"We'll see Skaara." O'Neill kept the presence of Kowalski, Hawk, and the reinforcements to himself. He had to assume they would see their own action, and that SG-1 and these prisoners were on their own.

SG-1, and Skaara spent the night in the cell. They did not get much rest. Nothing happened there while the sun was down.

Each of the Joe teams and SG-2 hunkered down for the night, taking turns keeping watch. Kowalski had moved his men to within visual range of the city. Stalker and Grunt were ahead of the alien platoon size formation headed toward the city, which Hawk told them had also set up camp for the night. Shooter kept silent. Hawk knew she could see the fort and that even if she was alone, she would keep track of any troop action there. Snakeyes and Scarlett were near the city. They stopped to rest the least as they had the responsibility of going into the city to find SG-1. Hawk and the rest of the Joes set up around the gate, circling the wagons as it were, with the tank and artillery. Very few of them got any real rest as they anticipated the next day's action.

The next morning, at the base of the town, soldiers made fun of an old couple coming into the town. The old woman spoke gibberish, but they just kept walking toward the center of the city. The old man walked humped over, leading the woman and said nothing.

The wrinkled couple walked up to one shopkeeper and the old man cupped his right hand and put it to his mouth, silently asking for food. The shopkeeper gave him some, which the old man shared with the woman. They kept moving toward the city's center. The gray-haired woman looked at the palace, which stood above the city. They chose that as their destination.

"Any word from SG-1," Scarlett asked Hawk over the radio.

"Not since O'Neill told me they were under attack. Scarlett, you have a platoon on the way to the city from the fort. Stalker and Grunt are ahead of them, and have given me a target spot. SG-2 is also moving into position outside the city to assist. The enemy will reach that spot in 20 minutes. Either you are out of there, or I will hit that platoon with a rocket. You have got to find SG-1 and get them out. This mission is quickly going south."

Hawk was now feeling the tension. This mission involved his team because they were a small unit outfitted with experimental weapons and designed to carry out ops against superior numbered forces. They brought their own artillery, and the most advanced communications technology, and yet Hawk wanted more reinforcements. Reinforcements meant more people had to be aware of the stargate, and more troops at risk. He held the remote to the MMS, and waited for the radio squelch from Shooter. Once he fired a rocket, that was it.

"We're in the town now, we are going to the most likely place for prisoners to be held," responded Scarlett, jarring Hawk out of his introspection.

SG-1, Skaara, and the rest of the prisoners waited anxiously. Carter and O'Neill were trying to map the town, and the castle, from memory. Skaara was watching, noting the guard's shift patterns he had seen during his two days plus of captivity.

Jackson kept busy checking on the other prisoners. Jackson found several language groups present in addition to Skaara's variation of Egyptian. There was a Classical Greek variation that Daniel did not fully understand. He recognized a form of Mandarin and wondered if one of the Joes might be able to speak this language. Then he wondered if it was even the same language. He also heard forms of Proto-Germanic, Latin, Persian and African dialects. He wondered what it meant. How did these aliens who had visited Egypt, visit so many cultures in ancient earth? He was unable to communicate with most of the human aliens, and that frustrated the linguist. He then remembered what CS Lewis had been told, "Never trust a philologist." Jackson felt useless.

Then he heard some form of ancient Native-American being spoken. As an Egyptologist he had studied some of the Mayan ruins for similarities so he was also more familiar with that language than many of the others. He went and met the people who spoke it. Their language was much older than the known Mayan language, but the researchers he had worked with had a surprisingly accurate knowledge of the dead language. It was in fact, one of the Mayan languages, spoken almost 2000 years prior to the peak of the civilization that brought about the Mayan pyramids and the infamous long-form Mayan calendar. When Daniel had shared his theory of the pyramids as alien landing pads, one of the researchers began to wonder aloud if the Mayans knew something we didn't, because the calendar seemed to end in about fifteen years.

Jackson suspected that the prisoners knew nothing about that. He was able to gather, through effort, that they were hungry, and scared. _Who wasn't_? thought Jackson. Danny split a candy bar that they divided amongst themselves.

Then there was a commotion at the door. O'Neill and Carter both got up. Jackson followed, as did many in the cell. All three SG-1 members, along with Skaara went to the front.

The large guard arrived and spoke to Jackson. Danny turned to his teammates and told them the man had asked where their deliverance was? O'Neill looked the man squarely in the eye and said, "It'll be here." To Carter, it was now as if the man understood O'Neill, as if the two shared some language she, or for that matter their resident language genius, could not understand. The alien made what looked to Daniel at first like a taunting gesture, tossing them the device that Jack had been speaking into before they had beat them in the food hall. Unfortunately, the speaker was not attached to an actual radio. Jack looked at the giant guard and said "Thank you", while knowing full well the speaker was useless.

Within seconds more guards approached, followed by a procession of richly dressed individuals, including Sha'uri, and the apparent king of this fiefdom. All of the prisoners were pushed away from the cell bars. Daniel tried again to approach Sha'uri, and was again knocked down. He looked dizzy as Carter looked after him.

The man next to Sha'uri was treated regally. He was dark skinned and carried himself with a sense of arrogance. After the prisoners were pushed away from the cell, the king and his Sha'uri entered, protected by their guards. They addressed the crowd, but only a few people understood.

Several guards moved the people even further back, creating a gap. The other well-dressed individuals with Sha'uri and the king began to enter the cell and move among the people, selecting individuals from the crowd. O'Neill asked Daniel what was going on. Daniel remained silent, as if contemplating its meaning. He remembered that the priests had asked if they were there to "choose?" Skaara whispered in O'Neill's ears, "Apophis said, 'Stand for this day you may have the honor of being chosen as the children of the gods." O'Neill remembered Ra, and that he had joined, or more likely taken over the body of the boy two thousand years ago. Then he remembered Sha'uri's eyes. He put two and two together and as he was about to speak, Carter said, "This is how they choose what bodies they are going to inhabit for the next two-thousand years."

"I was just going to say that. So this guy's name is Apophis, huh?" O'Neill said.

As the dignitaries chose individuals, the guards pulled them from the crowd, and set the chosen ones in a crowd by themselves near the gate. One of the well-dressed lords came over to where SG-1 and Skaara were standing. He pointed at Skaara. O'Neill got between the guards and Skaara, then the guards hit him with their staff weapons and knocked him down. The guards grabbed Skaara and took him over to the group of chosen ones. He was fighting the whole way. Skaara hit one guard in the knee, and then used his own staff to trip him. When three other guards pointed their weapons at Skaara, O'Neill yelled, "Stop, Skaara, now is not the time." Skaara knew nothing about O'Neill's plan, but the large alien guard could see that Skaara trusted the man who calmed him.

Just then, Daniel grabbed one of the royals, fell to the floor and spoke to him in their language. O'Neill could not see Jackson's face, but he could see Daniel's body slump when the royal responded. It was Carter who had the courage to ask, "What is it Daniel?"

"He said that there is nothing left of the host. He says that Sha'uri will be one of these things until she dies." Carter and O'Neill looked at each other, and then at Skaara. Now it seemed that Daniel knew what they knew. Sha'uri was now one of them, whatever they were.

The prisoners designated to become new hosts were led away by guards as the king, now known to them as Apophis, and his queen in the body of Sha'uri were the last of the gods to leave. Apophis spoke to his guards and then departed.

The guards moved into place. Six of them lined up on a staircase in front of those remaining in the cell. O'Neill noticed two guards standing outside the cell, one left to follow the procession while the other remained. The large guard in the cell walked over to the staircase. SG-1 moved to the front of the group of people. O'Neill now urgently told Jackson to translate as he spoke to the large guard.

"Do you know Ra?" Daniel translated. The guards stood silently. The large one looked closely at O'Neill. "We killed him. Blew up his spaceship with weapons similar to the ones that are about to hit right here." The guard stood silently. The other guards looked confused.

"What go'auld do you serve: Yu, Kronos, Moloch, Sokar?" Daniel understood the large guard to say.

In the ancient language Daniel responded, "We serve no go'auld." O'Neill was anxious that he could not understand what was being said, and that Daniel did not care to translate.

With this, all of the guards were perplexed.

Then O'Neill spoke again, "I can help these people. Help me help them," he pleaded this time.

When Daniel finished, the large guard walked a few steps toward O'Neill, "Many have said what you say," Jack heard in Daniel's voice as he translated the words of the guard. Just then, off in the distance they heard a clap of thunder. The guard seemed to consider the sound. He aimed his staff weapon at O'Neill and opened the head, charging the weapon.


	3. Who's Your Jaffa Now?

The long dark tunnel led to Skaara's doom. He remembered how he and his friends had rescued O'Neill and his men as Ra was about to have them executed. O'Neill and Jackson defeated Ra, while Kasuf had rallied the people to defeat his warriors. Now O'Neill and Jackson were in a cage, one of these demons had taken over Sha'uri, and Kasuf was on the other side of the Chappa'ai.

Skaara was near the end of the procession of prisoners. At the end of the procession came two guards, then Sha'uri and Apophis. The hallway grew brighter as they went up a flight of stairs.

Skaara listened as he heard explosions and some commotion coming from the prison. He knew they were staff weapon blasts and the cries of their victims. They meant the end of Daniel and O'Neill and all those left behind. It also spelt out the end of his hope, and any hope for Sha'uri. He heard one last blast that seemed to shake the palace. Neither Skaara nor Apophis could comprehend the reality of the situation. Skaara could only see the impossible situation, and Apophis could only see his infallibility. Apophis only smiled.

The staircase leveled out and opened into a room meant for the gods. It was covered with gold and fine linens. Skaara gasped. There were stone tables that reminded Skaara of altars. The tables were lined neatly in front of an elevated throne.

The room seemed to be full of people. Many of the regally dressed people from the prison were there, awaiting their king, and their chosen ones. Skaara thought some of the people might be priests, and others simply guests.

Skaara kept his head up. He tried to notice everything in the room, particularly some way to grab Sha'uri and escape. There were two guards in the front of the room on either side of the throne, two near the front of the procession of prisoners, and two in the back, plus a room full of people loyal to Apophis. Skaara could feel his chances slipping away. His thoughts turned to O'Neill.

* * *

The moment seemed like an eternity hanging in the air. "_I can help these people. Help me help them_."

The large guard walked a few steps toward O'Neill, "_Many have said what you say_," then the sound of thunder. The staff weapon aimed at O'Neill, charged to fire, hung in space and time.

"But you are the first I believe!" and before Jackson could finish the translation, the guard had turned on his own men and fired on the farthest one to the right.

The guard on the far left also turned on the one next to him and fired. All the prisoners scattered away from potential shots. The three guards remaining tried to run, but the large guard tossed his staff weapon to O'Neill who fired it on one of them. Then the large guard dove for the weapon of the guard he had killed. The second guard who had turned on his masters got one more, and the guard outside the cell shot the third. The guard outside the cell fired his weapon into the locked gate, opening it so he could enter.

The large guard looked at his former comrades. Then he went over to his accomplice from the line who now opened his hood. They knew each other and smiled as they grabbed each other's wrists. The second guard was lighter skinned, with blond hair, and several scars. They shared a big smile, both of hope…and despair. The guard who had entered the cell released his hood, only to show a familiar looking redheaded woman.

"Nice reunion, now we've got to get out of here," Scarlett announced. "Our reinforcements are on the way." Just then they heard a whistling sound. "Everybody down!" she yelled, then following the example of SG-1, ducked.

This time the explosion, as both Carter and O'Neill had recognized the thunder in the distance to have been, was very close. The cell room shook, several prisoners, already frightened, became terrified. A couple of prisoners shrieked as if in pain. Even the two surviving guards now appeared skittish.

O'Neill repeated Scarlett, "We've got to get out of here!" He turned toward the outside wall of the prison and blasted a hole in the wall with his newly acquired staff weapon. Carter ran to the hole to look out. They were on ground level outside the edge of the city. "Everyone, out. Scarlett, you take point."

"No can do, Colonel," she responded. "I need one of these guys to come with me. You need the other one to help lead you out of this war zone".

"What are you doing?" O'Neill asked.

Scarlett ignored him. "Take my radio, I see you don't have one. SG-2, Grunt and Stalker are right outside the city. Let them know where you are and they will meet you. Where's Sgt. Weterings?"

Jackson asked the large guard the question. He translated the reply, "She's dead."

They all paused.

It seemed wrong to move, but O'Neill had to get them going again. He was also not thrilled about taking orders, but it seemed that Scarlett had a plan. After all, she did walk into the palace right past all those guards. And she did get one of those crazy armored head pieces, either from an armory or crazier still, right off a guard. "Okay, I hope you know what you're doing."

"Nope," was her confident reply. "Dr. Jackson, tell this guard to take me through the palace," _Yup_, O'Neill thought, _this is crazy,_ "after Skaara and then to the place where your weapons and supplies would have been stored. I don't think it's a good idea to leave all that earth technology lying around."

"They have spaceships and energy weapons and you're worried about Earth technology? You're going to call one of those bombs right down on this city?" Jackson asked.

"We don't have time to argue, so you need to tell this guy that he needs to warn everyone to leave. You don't see radios, or telecom, or any digital data devices, do you? That stuff gives us what little advantage we have."

"Well if you're going into the castle then I'm going to rescue Sha'uri and Skaara," Daniel fiercely retorted while taking a staff weapon from a dead guard. He didn't like the feel, but he had used one before.

"No, you're not!" Scarlett responded almost screaming at Jackson.

"You'll need me to translate and guide you out of this city," said Jackson, but O'Neill knew Scarlett was right. He needed Daniel back at the SGC to translate for intell purposes. He couldn't stay.

Though Jackson was surprised, O'Neill was not when Scarlett responded, "Skaara will translate for us, and help find Sha'uri, now get out of here!" Daniel had just seen Skaara led away by Apophis to become one of those…things. Jack and the big guard both began moving him away from the gate and towards Jack's newly created hole-in-the-wall.

"Look, I'm sorry for being curt, but Snakeyes is already on his way to rescue them and the longer it takes me and the big lug here to get to him, the less likely we can help, and then the likely we'll rescue Sha'uri."

In the meantime, Carter had found a staff weapon, and was out front of the large group of people. Jack and the large guard helped people through the hole, while Jackson reluctantly gave Scarlett's instructions to the second guard.

Carter took the point, and when the cell was almost empty, O'Neill stopped and spoke to the big guard, "O'Neill." He then pointed to Daniel and said, "Jackson". Then he pointed at the red-headed woman and announced, "Scarlett".

The guard seemed to understand O'Neill and responded, "Teal'c". Then he pointed to his friend and said, "Hon'Teck."

"Pleased to meet you Teal'c," Jackson said introducing himself.

"I now have no place to go," said Teal'c, weighing what he had just done.

When Jackson finished, O'Neill motioned and said, "For this, you can stay at my place, come on."

Then O'Neill reached out his hand to Teal'c, and Teal'c reciprocated. O'Neill motioned for Teal'c to go, then Jackson. He watched as Hon'Teck and Scarlett went back through the cell and into the palace after Snakeyes, Skaara, Sha'uri, and Apophis. _Crazy._

* * *

Hawk heard the squelch. He had launched one missile at the fort. The second missile he had launched in front of the platoon column on the way to the city. The Joes had also fired one FLAK round behind the small column just to make them think twice about heading back to the fort. He was holding on to the third missile. He had Breaker move his Vamp to the base of the ramp near the gate. His would be the first vehicle back through. He heard another squelch, "What is it, Shooter? It's time to speak."

She had been otherwise silent, until now, "Serious damage to the fort. Your attack reduced their effective fighting force. A formation of about sixty-five men are geared at the fort and moving out. Not all of them are armed. Some do not have on the armor. Others appear to be limping, but they are all headed toward the gate," she added, "in a hurry."

"Get me the co-ordinates sixty feet in front of them." Then she gave him the location. "Did you catch that Shortfuze?"

"Yeah, boss."

"Hit that spot with the FLAK," Hawk yelled. Hawk knew the 155mm howitzer was not too accurate, but a couple of rounds would slow the guards down. Shortfuze let off the three rounds of live-combat fire from the rapid-fire modified cannon.

Now Hawk was concerned about the western front. He knew help was a long way off, but how long now? "Grand Slam, get the last Jump pack and scout the western woods. I need to know if anyone is coming from that direction. Snakeyes and Scarlett should have O'Neill and the others and be on their way, but we'll need to buy them time."

Hawk and Shortfuze helped get the pack on Grand Slam. Grand Slam took off into the sky right above the tree-line, to minimize exposure. Hawk jumped into the HAL, while he waited. He could launch the last MMS by remote.

* * *

O'Neill called on the radio to Stalker, and within minutes they linked up. SG-2 had been monitoring and Kowalski told O'Neill that his team would stay ahead, to keep ahead to scout for further enemy reinforcements.

Grunt took the point with Carter. As they walked down the path, Stalker reported to O'Neill what he knew. Hawk had fired one missile on the base. He had just heard the report of how much damage and how many casualties the rocket had caused. Hawk had used the second missile on a platoon coming to the city, and had hit slightly in front of the formation, causing many casualties there. Several guards at the rear had survived in combat ready shape, and were now moving away to another location.

O'Neill, through Jackson, asked Teal'c where they might be headed. Teal'c told them he thought they might be headed for the landing port. There was cargo ship, and two gliders there and Apophis would want his security present for his safety. Teal'c mentioned that was in the opposite direction, and that eventually, Apophis would take the cargo ship to the gate. "Everybody hustle," shouted O'Neill, hoping to make it to the gate before Apophis could escape with Sha'uri and Skaara. "Kowalski, how far ahead of us are you?"

"We're on the ridge about a mile ahead," replied the Major.

"Get to the gate, it sounds like these guys are headed there with air-power at some point. The three of you can move faster without us," said O'Neill thinking ahead, knowing the Joes at the gate could use extra firepower.

"We'll do, and we'll hold the fort for you, Colonel," promised Kowalski.

* * *

Skaara watched as the 'volunteer' at the head of the line was placed before Apophis. She was frantic and fighting the guards. Several of the chosen people tried to back further away from Apophis, but guards aimed their staff weapons at them. The woman was held by two guards as she cried out for help. Apophis raised his hand and with some kind of device that seemed to expel lightning into its victim, he sedated the woman. The guards put the woman on the table as another woman came up to it. Apophis said a few words, then the priests chanted words of praise to Apophis and his peers, and then the standing woman took a hideous serpent from what looked like a pouch in her belly. Skaara, among others, gasped. The standing woman then placed the snake on the lying woman's back. The serpent did the rest, disappearing into the woman's neck.

The woman who had been carrying the snake walked away. The woman on the table stood up, and then her eyes glowed just as Ra's, Apophis', and Sha'uri's had done.

Skaara's head dropped. His stomach sank. As he stooped his head, his eyes moved toward the entrance to the room. He thought he had seen something there, but the emptiness only reminded him of his predicament. Skaara turned his head toward the front of the throne room. How could he watch this again? He had to.

The process repeated itself. The man fought with the guards as they brought him to Apophis. Apophis raised his hand, ready to use the device to calm his second victim.

Skaara heard a staff weapon blast! Apophis screamed in pain. There was no hand left at the end of Apophis right arm.

More commotion broke near the door. A second staff weapon blast and a guard by the door went down, then a third shot downed the other guard. Skaara could not believe his eyes, but he had to because now a staff weapon was flying in his direction.

_One of O'Neill's men. I knew he was crafty._

The two guards who had been wrestling with their prisoner dropped him and stepped in front of Apophis and Sha'uri. They fired their weapons at the main entrance while trying to escort their rulers out of the throne room by a back door. Priests fell to the floor in fear as hot blasts warmed the air. Prisoners and honored guests alike ran to the walls and ducked for cover out of the way of the firefight.

The two guards near the throne split up. One shot at the mysterious assailant who was using the main door for cover. The other shot at Skaara, who now had a weapon. Skaara shot back and hit the guard who went down.

Before anyone else could fire, the mysterious assailant by the door blasted the guard in front of Sha'uri. Skaara shot his newly acquired staff and tried to hit Apophis, but missed.

The guard in front of Apophis fired in Skaara's direction. Skaara was forced to take cover behind a stone table that was the place of the sacrilegious transfer. Skaara moved to the other end of the table, and then shot the other guard by the throne who had focused on O'Neill's man. Apophis and Sha'uri were almost to the door when O'Neill's man shot the guard in front of Apophis. Skaara noticed his rescuer was in the armor of Apophis' guards.

Sha'uri jumped in front of Apophis. Skaara jumped into the open, but he could not shoot Sha'uri.

Apophis grabbed the weapon of his incapacitated guard using Sha'uri as cover and fired his weapon. Skaara felt the searing pain. He went down to his knees and lowered his weapon. Skaara watched as with his last breath he witnessed O'Neill's man pull a small weapon, a handgun, from his armor suit and shoot Sha'uri. As he watched her blood flow, his eyes closed. Skaara fell down dead.


	4. No Place for Apophis

Apophis heard Sha'uri cry out in pain. He quickly aimed his weapon in the direction of the rebel at the door. He fired and hit the armor. The guard went down.

Apophis looked back to Sha'uri. She reached for her right shoulder with her left hand. The blood dripped from her hand as she looked at it quizzically. She began to laugh a sordid maniacal laugh worthy of the Goa'uld. She would be fine. No primitive weapon could really harm her. The symbiote would see to that by healing the human body.

Apophis knew, however, that he was a different story. He could not grow back a hand.

Apophis turned his attention to other problems. He realized there was no one for him to trust. All of his guards were down, and his assailant was wearing a serpent hood. He ordered the priests to take him, and the rest of his god family out the back entrance of the room.

"Where is Teal'c?" He wanted his most loyal and trusted servant. The priests would take him by the palace barracks where he would pick up more guards he hoped he could trust. Then he would head to the Chappa'ai via cargo ship and return to his home planet. He determined to escape quickly, but he might need to assault the gate area if enemy Jaffa were staged there. _Whoever was responsible for this would pay!_

It took him a few minutes to get to the palace barracks. There were only a few guards there. Four of these guards would take him to the cargo ship. One would gather a detail to secure the palace, and the last would lead whoever he could find to assault the gate to secure Apophis' escape. The guards moved quickly, Apophis made it known he was in a hurry.

* * *

Scarlett and Hon'Teck came up on the fallen guard only to see him rouse. Scarlett deactivated the seriously damage armor while Hon'Teck aimed his weapon at the guard to cover him. Hon'Teck gasped at the horribly scarred face. The soldier, or perhaps gargoyle, thought Hon'Teck-seemed to smile, as much as the face could form one.

Scarlett helped him up as he slowly dismantled the mangled armor. The man reached into his armor and pulled out clothes. Hon'Teck's new friend, Scarlett, accepted the man, and his horrid appearance. The first thing he put on was the black mask that covered his deformed face. Hon'Teck marveled that the man never said a word. Scarlett, did not expect him to.

Scarlett looked at the man and introduced him, "Hon'Teck, Snakeyes."

Hon'Teck tried the name, "Snakeyes." Snakeyes nodded.

Scarlett went over to Skaara and saw his lifeless body. She had only seen him briefly when the Goa'uld had selected him from the prison crowd. Also in the room were the other prisoners in the room who were huddled against the wall, unsure of what to do.

Hon'Teck's head began to swirl. These mere humans had interrupted the Choosing, one of the highest rites of the Goa'uld. Were these rebels the Tauri who in legend so long ago on a distant planet had fought off the Goa'uld? Is Ra dead and did this 'O'Neill' really kill him? He looked at the fiery woman with the red hair, and the silent Snakeyes with the face of death, now dressed in black. His mental paradigm fell apart.

"Hon'Teck, we've got to go." He could not understand the words she said as she walked toward the door, but he knew their meaning.

He began to think quickly. He dug into the one primal thing that remained, his military training. He saw Scarlett and the former prisoners as his combat team. Only their lives meant anything now. The other Jaffa and the Goa'uld-all the Goa'uld-were now the enemy.

He moved briskly into the room. He told the prisoners how to escape. Those who did not understand him simply followed those who did. They headed back on their own towards the cell where they had been held. He walked over to Skaara, picked him up, and motioned for Scarlett and Snakeyes to follow him.

Hon'Teck reactivated his serpent armor, as did Scarlett. Hon'Teck took off down the hallway, carrying Skaara, with Scarlett and Snakeyes right behind. Scarlett saw that Snakeyes was still moving gingerly, so she kept some distance from Hon'Teck so she could see them both.

They followed corridors, and took staircases until Hon'Teck finally walked into a room. Scarlett noticed SG-1's radios, MP5's, XMLR-3A's, as well as their field packs and handguns. She and Snakeyes grabbed as much as they could carry and set the rest in a corner and used the laser rifles to destroy the equipment. Then for good measure they lobbed two grenades on the pile. Then they hurried away, more guards would be drawn to the explosion.

Hon'Teck led them on deeper into the building. Finally they entered into a room where Scarlett noticed an ornate casket in the middle of the room. Hon'Teck walked over to the casket.

"I don't think we have time for this." Scarlett said to Snakeyes, knowing it would not do any good to say it to Hon'Teck. "I'll watch the door, you try and hurry him up." She kept her serpent hood on hoping it would throw off any guards loyal to Apophis.

Hon'Teck, with his hood lowered, opened the casket and carefully set Skaara's lifeless body inside. Scarlett called over the radio, "Hawk, do you copy?"

"Scarlett? This is O'Neill. What's going on in there?"

"We've destroyed our stuff, but we do not have Sha'uri," she said into her microphone.

"What about Skaara?"

She did not have the heart to answer. They had come for Weterings, Skaara, and Sha'uri. The first two were dead and the third was out of reach. "We'll be along shortly. Tell Hawk to stand by for precise coordinates for a strike on the city."

"We'll do." Scarlett heard in O'Neill's voice that he understood about Skaara. She could tell he had affection for the boy.

She turned around to see the strange casket open. Hon'Teck looked expectantly. She gasped as she saw Skaara sit up in the casket! He was scared. He took a deep breath and then he began to breath quickly, followed by another deep breath. He looked down and touched the place that Apophis had given him the wound. It was no longer there.

"Skaara," Scarlett said in shock. He looked at her. He had never seen her before. He had never seen a woman with hair so red. _Was this the afterlife? _He saw the guard standing over the tomb and the man in the strange black clothes. Scarlett finished her question, "Are you okay?"

Hon'Teck reached down to help him out. He was a little shaken, but Skaara felt strong. "Are you with O'Neill?"

"Yes," she replied. "Are you okay enough to move?" she asked.

"Yes," he responded unconvincingly. Then he looked around again, not ready to go, "Sha'uri! O'Neill's man shot Sha'uri."

Scarlett looked at Snakeyes. Skaara looked at Hon'Teck and repeated himself in his own language. It took a moment for Hon'Teck to understand who Skaara was talking about. "Amonet. Our queen. She is Goa'uld. They have the ability to heal quickly, and they have strength beyond that of normal humans."

"But I saw her bleed," he told Hon'Teck.

Scarlett did not know what they were saying, but she interrupted anyway, "Was she standing in front of anyone?"

"Yes," Skaara responded.

"And where was she shot?"

"In the right shoulder."

"Shooting her there was the best way to get her out of the way and a less likely way of killing her. If Snakeyes" pointing to the man in black, "would have aimed for her heart, he would have killed her. I know this is not what you want to hear, but he needed to move her out of the way. It sounds like he did not succeed."

She could see Skaara was still mad. He looked over at the man in black.

"If you want to get Sha'uri back we'll need to work together. We need you, and you need Snakeyes. So if you want to be angry at him, do it later."

Then Hon'Teck said something. Skaara turned to Scarlett, "He says it will be difficult to get out of here, we must take a ship."

Scarlett looked at Snakeyes and said, "I'm game. But we have to do something else first." Then she hit the radio again. "Hawk, 20 minutes to hit these coordinates." Scarlett gave Hawk the direct coordinates of the sarcophagus since that seemed like an important part of the enemy's technology.

Just then, a group of guards noticed Scarlett and came up to her at the entrance of the sarcophagus room. Hon'Teck noticed that Snakeyes had quietly disappeared.

"What are you doing?" one guard asked.

Hon'Teck recognized the guard, Kronack. Hon'Teck responded, "Apophis ordered me to resurrect this traitorous slave, then escort him to the launch port. Will you assist me?"

Kronack responded, "I cannot, my mission is to secure the palace. My orders are direct from Apophis himself. It is not like the Goa'uld to allow us to use the sarcophagus," he asked quizzically.

"Nevertheless, those are my orders, and if you cannot assist me, then do not delay me. You know what Apophis will to do us if his orders are not followed."

"Go. Use the main entrance to the building. But beware, someone has betrayed Apophis."

And with that, Hon'Teck took the lead, followed by Skaara, their supposed prisoner. Last came Scarlett. Snakeyes was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Shooter watched as the haggard column formed and began moving in the field that would pass right in front of her. She heard the incoming 155mm shells and turned her face away. The soldiers dropped down, not sure of what to make of the whistle. Then came the explosions and the flying dirt. The men in the open field were hesitant to move as the explosions were purposefully placed in their path. Four rounds fired in a line in front of them.

"Hawk, their stunned for now," she reported. She continued to watch from her concealed location in the forest beside the open field. How would they adapt? Could they adapt?

Finally, after several minutes of lying still, one of the enemy soldiers began to rouse the men. This time more slowly and cautiously they began to move forward. Shooter reported this to Hawk. Again the sound of 155mm shells came through the air, everyone got down. This time the shells were closer. Many in the alien column put their hands over their ears as this time six rounds came in. Hawk hoped this would deter them for longer.

The soldiers seemed so helpless to Shooter. Some were now crying, others curled up in the fetal position. They were about 75 yards from her position.

She began to feel a sharp pain. She was nowhere near any combatant. As she looked around she saw nothing. No blood, no rips in her clothes. She was aware of everything: the ants sharing the tree limb she was on, the wind blowing, grass ruffling, birds, cries of men, the reflection of the alien sun in her scope, and one alien soldier who had not been terrified by the barrage. Once the shelling stopped, he walked shouting to the others. He did not seem arrogant, only determined. It took some time, but the men slowly began to get up. He led them across the field toward the forest on the other side, and she sat in the tree frozen, unable to move.

* * *

Hon'Teck led the others through the building. He had no idea how it had happened, but Snakeyes had disappeared from the group. Scarlett did not seem concerned, though he wondered if she had noticed under her serpent hood. Scarlett simply walked straight, pointing her staff weapon at Skaara. Hon'Teck became nervous as another patrol of Jaffa stopped them in the hall.

Hon'Teck stopped the guards, "State your name and business," he ordered.

The guard answered quickly, "State your's. I am Trilac on business from Apophis himself. I am recruiting men to go to the gate and secure it for Apophis. An enemy Goa'uld holds the Chappa'ai and has sent spies among us and attempted to assassinate Apophis and Amonet. They failed.

"Yes, you fool, and our prisoner is one of them. Apophis wants us to escort him to 'Point Forward'," responded Hon'Teck.

Scarlett did not like how long this was taking.

Then the guard speaking with Hon'Teck turned to Scarlett and said something. She waited for Skaara to give her a cue. Hon'Teck tried to step in, but Trilac would not hear it. Finally, Skaara turned to her mockingly and said in English, "Can you not speak? He's asking for your name."

Scarlett pushed the button to release her hood. Un-noticed by all, Skaara reached slowly behind his back and into his belt. He reached forward while the guards focused on Scarlett and bang! Scarlett had given him the small handgun she keeps in her glove and he shot Trilac.

Hon'Teck was quicker than Trilac's partner and fired his staff weapon into his armor. The guard went down. Skaara had shot Trilac in the leg because he knew the armor would withstand a shot from the little handgun. Scarlett moved quickly and took Trilac's weapon before he could fire.

Hon'Teck spoke to Trilac while Trilac stood there with his leg bleeding. Skaara told Scarlett that Hon'Teck was asking Trilac to join them. Trilac told him that he would never betray his god.

Hon'Teck looked troubled now. Scarlett looked at them both, and then swung her staff weapon at Trilac's head. He fell down unconscious. Hon'Teck looked stunned. Scarlett looked at him and said through Skaara, "It was better than shooting him." Hon'Teck noticed she did no kill Trilac. What would cause a soldier not to kill an enemy?

Now they again made their way toward the exit. It was guarded. Scarlett looked at her watch, "Ten more minutes!" Just then they heard a loud noise overhead and it was coming closer.

"O'Neill! Hawk! Enemy air cover incoming, now!" She yelled into her radio. In doing so, she gave away their position to the guards at the palace entrance. About five guards understood that someone was there who should not be. They opened fire down the hall.

* * *

O'Neill and the group had now been free from the prison for almost 45 minutes. He figured they had traveled about a half of the distance to the stargate.

Just then, three alien ships flew overhead. One was larger while the other two, O'Neill and Jackson knew well. They were gliders, small alien fighter craft. Everyone hit the ground and O'Neill got on his radio, "Hawk, you copy? Hawk, come in."

"I read you clear, Colonel, I assume you met up with Stalker and Grunt alright."

"Yeah, but in about 5 seconds, you're facing air-power." Then O'Neill, Stalker and Grunt each heard the fireworks on their radios.

* * *

Clutch had suggested to Hawk that they switch positions until Grand Slam returned. Hawk agreed as he moved to a vamp, Clutch took the MoBaT, and Steeler operated the Hal.

"Fire that Hal into the ships."

"Hawk, do you copy?" he heard Scarlett speaking into the radio. "Take down the fighters, the larger ship is unarmed and had Dr. Jackson's wife on it."

"I copy, but I can't make any promises for her safety. Where are you?"

"If you hold them off, the shuttle will have to land and we intend to be there and take the ship to get to the gate. So hold them off, and don't blow up that ship."

"Over and out," Hawk replied. Scarlett knew he could not promise her that, the larger portion of the expedition depended on him destroying any threats, and that ship was likely a threat.

Steeler lit the sky with the twin barreled Hal. He had heard the conversation and just wanted to distract the birds. Zap came out from under the brush as the fighters made a flyover. The cargo ship could not land so it made off in the direction of the fort. The fighters circled around to attack the troops at the gate.

Just then, one exploded and crashed into the forest in front of the gate.

"Kowalski?" shouted Rock'n'Roll. Just then the remote controlled atv came into sight.

"Kowalski," responded Hawk. SG-2 had arrived back to at the gate. It was Warren who came with the atv.

"Casey and Kowalski are coming, they had to stop to handle the light work." Hawk was glad to have the extra guns. The troop formation from the fort was still out there, and Grand Slam had not finished his scouting.

"Here comes the other one again!" shouted a Joe. In the middle of the combat situation Hawk was not sure who said it, but he thought it was Breaker. It wildly took some shots at the ground and then veered off. Zap fired his AA missile while Steeler fired the Hal at the fighter, but this time they missed. The second death glider disappeared into the distance.

* * *

Scarlett, Hon'Teck and Skaara were around a corner from the entrance, but they could not get a clear shot at the gate. Scarlett gave Skaara an MP-5, which he quickly bolted the rifle, loading the chamber. Scarlett looked at him, "You've done this before."

He smiled at her. Then they heard an explosion, and a loud noise that Hon'Teck had never heard before. Scarlett recognized the explosion, and the loud noise of an Uzi. She took her staff weapon and to the surprise of Hon'Teck and Skaara, charged around the corner into the hallway that had just been saturated by enemy fire. Hon'Teck and Skaara followed, not sure of what was going on, though Skaara did recognize the sound of a weapon similar to the one he now carried-one of O'Neill's weapons.

Scarlett fired into one guard and the battle was over. The other guards were already on the ground. Hon'Teck and Skaara were confused when a man in black fatigues carrying a small but intimidating weapon jumped into the doorway and landed in front of them.

Scarlett did not even stop to thank him. For that matter he did not seem to notice. Hon'Teck and Skaara followed. Snakeyes ran out in front of Scarlett and led them.

Snakeyes led them over to a garden with bushes. While Scarlett hid in the bushes for a brief minute,

Hon'Teck spoke to Skaara privately. Scarlett came out of the bushes in a blue jumpsuit with a tan vest. They also had more gear. Scarlett was now also carrying the same type of smaller menacing looking weapon that Snakeyes carried while they both shouldered other weapons. They loaded Skaara with whatever he wanted to carry, and again destroyed the rest.

Skaara looked at Scarlett and told her of his conversation with Hon'Teck, "He has never heard a noise like your weapons make. It scares him."

Scarlett looked at the grin on Skaara's face. He added, "They do not scare me, I have used them before."

"Great," she said nervously, wondering what Skaara's point was. Then she commented, "That improves our chances of getting out of here. Wait until he hears the explosion that's coming."

Hon'Teck now realized he was on. Hon'Teck led the way, followed by Scarlett and Skaara who stuck close together. Snakeyes came last. Scarlett was now confident Snakeyes had recovered from the shock he had received earlier.

Hon'Teck had to warn his people of an impending explosion. He activated his helmet, and again led the others through the city. He used the amplifying technology of his armor to carry a message to the people. Scarlett asked Skaara, "What's he saying?"

"I am embarrassed to say," he replied. They reached the gate of the city and began to run. Then they all hit the ground as they heard the incoming rocket.

The rocket hit. The explosion obliterated the palace. The ground outside the palace shook violently. The smoke and ash billowed into the sky. A shockwave threw dust throughout the city. Scarlett wondered what added extra punch to the explosion.

Hon'Teck was already up and running, unwilling to submit to the fear he felt from the stunning explosion. Snakeyes took a position behind Scarlett and Skaara as they began to run. Scarlett cocked her head, "What did he say?"

Skaara translated for her, "He said, 'The Tauri' have come. Those who despise and repelled the Go'auld so many thousands of years ago are here to bring their wrath upon Apophis. O'Neill, slayer of Ra, has come, and he has brought the Scarlett plague. Behold her beauty, for she is fierce and leads the black death. He bears the face no one can look upon unscathed and his name is the One Who Sees the Go'auld. They bring death and destruction upon the Go'auld. Fear the wrath of the Tauri and flee the city in this moment. Death comes to this place in minutes. But beware, they will not stay long and the wrath of Apophis will be hot upon both his enemies and those who failed him. Flee this city for they will lay waste to his palace.'"

"That's a bit dramatic," said Scarlett feeling a little embarrassed herself. "I wonder how many people listened."

Scarlett had mentioned to Hon'Teck that they controlled the Stargate, and it would be difficult for Apophis to escape that way. He knew that Apophis would return aboard his cargo ship to a secondary location. The closest location was a mile from the city and he and his new friends would have to ambush the guards so as not to scare off the ship, and take the ship quickly.

* * *

_Minutes earlier_

Grand Slam ran in from the treeline. "What are you doing running?" asked Breaker.

"I was on my way back when I saw the ships. I figured it was safer on the ground, but now I am tired," he replied.

"Report," Hawk unceremoniously ordered.

"Troops seem to be gathering, but they are at least an hour away."

"We may not have enough time." Hawk was now concerned. The troops from the fort were too close and they could not handle a larger formation. And now time was up. He launched his last missile into the sky toward the coordinates that Scarlett had given him.

"Dial the gate. Warren, take the atv and the first Vamp back through the gate and report to General Hammond of our current situation," Hawk ordered. Breaker took the remote from Warren, and Warren drove the Vamp with Hawk's MMS back to earth.

Clutch spoke out loud, "Just so you know, that was the longest drive in history." Hawk smirked, then went on to the next thing. Shortfuze wanted to slap Clutch on the back of the head.

Just then, the ground shook. They saw smoke rising into the sky. From a distance it looked like a dust cloud from a nuclear explosion.

"Scarlett, do you copy?" There was no response to Breaker's call. "O'Neill, do you read?"

"Yeah," O'Neill responded, "what was that?"

"Hawk fired the last MMS at the coordinates Scarlett gave him. I never heard anything about the extra punch, must have been some kind of fuel depot or something," said Breaker.

"We are just a few minutes from the gate. We'll see you guys soon."

"We're just waiting on the sniper, Scarlett and Snakeyes. Maybe you can reach them, I haven't been able to."

"Hay, tell Hawk we're bringing guests. We have refugees and one enemy soldier who helped us escape. If Scarlett is alright, then they have an enemy soldier helping them as well.

Hawk chimed in, "How many refugees?"

"About 30, and it looks like several more are behind us."

_Uh-Oh, _Hawk thought. This is going to be interesting.

* * *

O'Neill noticed those who were running to catch up to his band of refugees. Jackson recognized them as some of those who were selected to become hosts while in the cell. He ran back with O'Neill and Teal'c, but there was no Scarlett, and no Skaara.

Carter walked back to O'Neill. "I bet they hit something with that quartz mineral the gate is made out of. It's highly unstable."

Jackson came up to Carter and O'Neill. "Teal'c calls that element Naquadah. He says that the sarcophagus is the most likely source of the large explosion."

O'Neill tried to reach Scarlett but was unable to. There was no response. SG-1 and the refugees kept walking. At the front, Grunt was almost to the foot of the last ridge before the gate. They were almost home.

* * *

Scarlett heard the explosion in the city. So did Hon'Teck. The explosion was larger than Scarlett had anticipated. Scarlett wondered what the sarcophagus was made out of. They could no longer see the city, but they did see debris fly into the air. Hon'Teck was moving quickly. He feared that if Apophis landed his ship near the fort rather than where they were headed, they could not get to the ship.

Their only hope was that he brought it to this site. Hon'Teck called it Point Forward. It was the site where Apophis would take command in case of an attack via the gate that threatened his castle. This was one such occasion.

It had a bunker, and stocks of equipment, but it was lightly manned. It was not a fort, per se, but was defendable. It was more intended to be secret, than fortified. It did not have enough people to adequately defend it right now. Hon'Teck planned to take advantage of that.

* * *

Hawk stood near the gate and went over the situation in his mind. The Joes had the gate, but were at the center of what was about to be a firestorm. Luckily Kowalski had just arrived. Grand Slam had scouted to the west of the gate and found enemy forces gathering there. Shooter was in a wooded area near a field with nearly 65 combatants passing by her position. This enemy formation was about to come between Shooter and her way out. SGs 1 was on their way to the gate with Grunt, Stalker, and an uncounted number of refugees. Snakeyes and Scarlett were still near the city and out of radio contact-he hoped. Everything was coming to a head and they weren't any closer to home than they were an hour ago.

* * *

How could Hawk know that Snakeyes and Scarlett, along with Hon'Teck were rushing headlong to an enemy command bunker? Hon'Teck's ran toward what he hoped would be a battle symbolic of the freedom of the Jaffa from the Goa'uld. Scarlett thought of getting home-alive. Skaara thought of Sha'uri.

Who could tell what was on the mind of Snakeyes? The expressionless mask told no tales. Perhaps he thought of freedom for enslaved races, or of going home, or of rescuing an alien princess, or perhaps none of these. None might ever know.

What would be found is awareness. Awareness of teammates in front of him. Awareness of wind, grass, ground being crushed beneath running feet, trigger finger, sounds in the distance. Sounds of gunfire. More than he hearing them, he felt them.

And one last sound, one of an aircraft off in the distance drawing nearer.

* * *

Hope you enjoy.


	5. Into the Pool

"The Goa'uld are parasites. Their civilization is parasitical. Their culture is parasitical. The Goa'uld have nothing that originates within themselves, except their lust for power."

"That's really not so different from us," responded Daniel.

Hon'Teck startled Skaara when he pulled an armor plate away from his abdomen revealing his sliced belly, and a snake similar to the one Skaara had seen in the palace. "This is a larval Goa'uld. We are Jaffa, and the larvae are given to us until they mature. Then they are placed in a more permanent host, like a human. then we receive a new larvae."

"So it's more like a bug," said Scarlett, carrying on a cumbersome conversation through Skaara with Hon'Teck.

"The Goa'uld larva gives us health and extra-long life in exchange for our service," spoke Teal'c in a matter of fact tone.

"And you provide them with the means to enslave," answered Daniel promptly.

"Do not judge us too harshly. They have enslaved **us** for this purpose. Without the Goa'uld symbiote I and my people would die an agonizing death. Our entire race would become extinct. It is a terrible price we pay. By joining you, I have ensured that when my larva reaches maturity, I will die because I will not be trusted with another."

"So then why did you join us?" asked Scarlett.

"Because I want my people to be free. I have heard of races with the technology to free my people, but you are the first I have seen with my own eyes."

"So these mature Goa'uld, no one has ever escaped their control?" asked a desperate Daniel.

"I have never seen such a thing, and this One Who Sees the Goa'uld would have been right to try to kill Amonet, both for her sake, and ours."

"I want my sister to be free."

"The Goa'uld will use the sarcophagus to keep her body healthy and youthful. When she is finished with it, Daniel Jackson, Amonet will move into another body, and your wife's body will die," lamented Teal'c.

"What makes her your sister, young Skaara, is already dead."

Scarlett looked at both Hon'Teck and Skaara, and then at Snakeyes. "I can't promise anything, but if we can, we'll take her back to earth with us and have our best people look her over." Snakeyes seemed to motion approval, though only Scarlett was sure of this.

* * *

The ship flying to the fort, and then the explosion finally jarred Shooter back into the present. Most of the enemy troops were off the field and into the forest across from her position. They were now headed to the north of the gate. The forest would provide cover for an attack on the position of the Joes at the gate. She called this in to Hawk.

She watched as the seeming leader of this small force, now known to her and the Joes as Jaffa, marched directly through the open field toward the gate. He was separate from the bulk of his unit. A few followed him. Some of the Jaffa were still lying on the ground, unmovable, even by the iron will of this incredible warrior.

She shot once. She hit a Jaffa in the back of the knee and he went down violently.

Shot two: she missed one now closer to the forest.

Shot three: she hit another Jaffa in the leg.

Shot four: she knew she had missed wildly.

Shot five: another Jaffa went down, alive.

Shot six never fired. Through her scope she now saw the one Jaffa, noble and brave enemy that he was. He turned and saw the three wounded Jaffa off to his right and walked over to them and bent down. He moved with compassion, briefly touching each of the injured soldiers. She put the crosshairs of her scope right on his head. Then he got up, turned around, and stared right at her. His eyes pierced her heart and soul. She froze again. She could not escape his gaze.

In reality, he could not see her. She could not shoot him. But then somehow she knew he would not harm her. After a few terrifying moments of his glare, he finally turned. He continued to walk his chosen path, out in the open: unmoved, unshaken and undeterred. He moved with purpose. She did not move at all.

* * *

They heard the ship before they saw it. Before they spread out into positions, Scarlett got close to Snakeyes. He gently reached his right hand to the back of her neck. She held his left hand in her right hand. They tenderly put their foreheads together.

The moment did not last long, but Skaara turned to Hon'Teck and quietly said in the ancient language, "I thought I had found the woman of my dreams."

Hon'Teck nodded and sighed. He too, was enamored with red-haired warrior. Seeing Scarlett took him back to a time when Apophis brought in the forces of Moloc to join him in subduing a lesser system lord. Among Moloc's warriors was his high priestess, Ishta, and many other beautiful women and skilled warriors. Hon'Teck looked back to this time with fondness and sadness. Moloc forbid Hon'Teck union with any of his warriors. Instead, Apophis arranged a marriage for Hon'Teck with a priestess of Baal from Dakara. Hon'Teck's wife was a spoiled brat with no interest in such rugged activity, or in Hon'Teck. He believed she actually was more interested in Baal, and so he has not had contact with her in many years.

Hon'Teck returned to the present, looking at Skaara. "He is a warrior worthy of her. Come, let us fight together. Perhaps we will find your sister." Inside Hon'Teck wondered if finding Amonet meant finding his god Apophis, and what that might mean. Would his god smite them, or would one of them bear the name similar to O'Neill, Slayer of Ra? Hon'Teck wondered of Apophis' mortality. Apophis had lost his hand, and now would they have the chance to end it all?

Scarlett, Snakeyes, Skaara, and Hon'Teck spread out. Skaara had come up with the plan. The only change to his plan to take the ship was for Snakeyes, instead of Skaara, to join Hon'Teck in boarding it.

Hon'Teck could not communicate directly with Scarlett, but communicating with Snakeyes required that he communicate with Scarlett, and then through Skaara. Snakeyes and Scarlett had an almost seamless communication. It was not audible, though the man in black could hear. It was almost intuitive.

Before the cargo ship came into sight, one of the guards curiously stepped out of the perimeter surrounding the ring sight and into the tree-line. He quickly came back.

As the cargo ship came into position, four of the guards moved into a smaller circle below the ship. Scarlett watched from her hiding place as a light began to shine from the belly of the cargo ship.

At this moment two guards stepped into the light and turned back to back. They fired on the other Jaffa.

When the two Jaffa began to shoot the others, Scarlett eyed another Jaffa through the scope in her crossbow and fired. She watched the soldier go down. Then she looked to see rings from the ship encircle Hon'Teck and Snakeyes, the two Jaffa who had fired on the others. She targeted and hit another Jaffa who went down. She watched as Snakeyes and Hon'Teck disappeared. Apophis and Sha'uri now appeared where Snakeyes and Hon'Teck had stood moments before.

Skaara began shooting his MP-5 at troops near his location. Scarlett kept track. Of the original dozen or so guards, Snakeyes and Hon'Teck and knocked out four, Scarlett had already hit two. Skaara had taken out two, leaving about four-no-a fifth Jaffa. Scarlett targeted her crossbow, and then hit another Jaffa. Skaara continued to shoot in the general direction of the guards, careful not to shoot near Sha'uri.

Apophis recognized the danger immediately. Amonet touched her wrist bracelet and activated the rings again. This time, Apophis and Amonet disappeared from sight.

Apophis and Amonet materialized within the rings on the cargo ship. Apophis noticed the guards on the floor and one in the pilot's seat smiling at him. "Shova!"

This was turning into a bad day. Where could he go? Amonet stepped in between Apophis and the pilot. Apophis dove for a staff weapon on the ground. He reached out on his belly lying on the ground with his head toward the rear of the compartment, hoping that would buy him a few moments. It did not.

A Jaffa hit him over the head with a staff weapon. The pilot, in turn, hit Amonet over the head. Amonet was unconscious. Apophis was dazed, but aware enough to know that to save his life he needed to stay still. He could not reach the rings, and if he did, he could not activate them.

Back on the ground below the ship, another guard went down. The guards turned their attention on Skaara, who was forced to retreat further into the forest. Scarlett's choice of the silent crossbow left her untargeted. The last three guards moved to the edge of the forest. She slung her crossbow around her shoulder, and grabbed her laser-rifle.

Scarlett silently snuck up behind the three Jaffa hunters. She opened fire on them, taking out one in the first burst. Skaara had been watching and created a cross-fire, taking out the last two. _He has done this before,_ Scarlett thought.

They both ran to the point where the rings had taken Snakeyes and Hon'Teck first, and then Apophis and Amonet. Scarlett fired her laser into the sky in front of the cargo ship.

Aboard the ship Hon'Teck saw the signal and activated the rings, bringing Skaara and Scarlett aboard. Hon'Teck turned the ship, and flew it toward the gate.

Skaara finally saw his sister, unconscious. He ran toward her, only to be stopped by a Jaffa. Skaara knew it was Snakeyes. She was lying next to Apophis, still appearing to be unconscious. Snakeyes took the barrel of Skaara's weapon and pointed it at the two Goa'uld.

Snakeyes disappeared for a moment, and returned in his all black costume. As the ship flew, they both stood silently with their weapons trained on their captures.

* * *

Grunt led the refugees down the path to the edge of the forest. Just as they arrived there, staff weapon blasts came in from the forest on the north of the field surrounding the gate.

The Joes returned fire. Steeler fired the MoBat's main gun into the forest, as well as its .50 cal machine gun. Grandslam fired the Hal into the forest. Trees splintered and fell. Several other Joes fired a variety of weapons into the woods.

Grunt decided to lead the refugees around the edge of the field from where they were on the south edge, over to the position held by Zap and SG-2 on the eastern ridge above the gate. It was closer to the gate, and would allow him to get into the firefight while still providing cover for the refugees.

It did not take long for the Jaffa to the north to fall back and hold their fire. These Jaffa had been in the fort when Hawk slammed it with the MMS. They had faced Flak fire in the open field, and now they had seen what looked to them like a rolling fortress and something like a large staff weapon blast and shattered trees right in front of them. These were no longer the bold armies of the god Apophis, but petrified men, exposed to elements they had never seen or expected, not to mention the noise of the armored fortress. Few Jaffa were physical casualties of the barrage, many more were emotional casualties, traumatized right out of the rest of the fight.

But they had affected their enemies, though they did not know this. Hawk and Breaker saw the shrapnel fly off the DHD. They ran to the control device. The Jaffa had hit the DHD in such a way as to damage several of the keys, as well as one of the conduits that ran from the keyboard to what they were calling the cpu. Flash began checking to see if conduit was missing between the control device and the gate.

"Can you fix it?" Hawk asked.

"Maybe, but I'm going to need help," replied the communications expert. Hawk looked around and realized he could not pull Grand Slam from the Hal, or Flash from his weapon. He looked up to the ridge and saw Grunt.

"Is Captain Carter with you? We need to fix this DHD," asked Hawk via radio to his infantry specialist.

"Yeah, I'll do you one better. May I suggest our new Jaffa friend as well," Grunt responded. And with that, Carter, Jackson and Teal'c ran down the hill toward the DHD.

Meanwhile, Stalker, at the back of the group of refugees, saw movement. "Jaffa coming from the rear!" he called out.

O'Neill, and Grunt ran to join him on one side of the path, while Rock'n'Roll had established a position on the other side. As the six Jaffa approached, the Joes created a cross-fire, taking down two enemy combatants in short order. The other four Jaffa found cover, and fired their staff weapons wildly back at the Joes and O'Neill.

The battle was far enough away not to threaten Carter, Breaker, and the others working on the gate. That did not satisfy Hawk. "Grunt, coordinates for those Jaffa."

Grunt relayed, "Twenty-five yards southeast of our position." And then he went into more detail.

"Shortfuze, the honors," Hawk ordered as Shortfuze unloaded three Flak rounds on the given position. Again the combat ceased.

Stalker shouted to O'Neill and Grunt, "We need to keep them from flanking us. Grunt, you hold this position and keep the road in a cross-fire with Rock-n-Roll. Colonel, you and I need to move to a position away from the path so that these Jaffa don't flank us and get clean shots at the refugees, and then the ridge."

O'Neill was still getting used to having NCO's give orders. He had seen Stalker and Scarlett display their intelligence in the briefing. Scarlett was beyond competent, having rescued him and his teammates. Now he was with Stalker who was a take charge sergeant in the field.

A little more than a year ago, O'Neill had brought a team of eight men through the gate. He had not hand-picked this team, they were picked for him. Only four survived. He retired shortly after that.

Before his first trip through the gate, he had taken time off from his son's accidental death. He was not ready for command. O'Neill had not been in a combat situation, or training for that matter, for almost four years. He went back to those days in Special Tactics. NCO's had behaved in much the same way, only he had forgotten his relationship with his CSM's, and other sergeants. He had no further issue with taking orders from Stalker, and relished that these Joes knew what they were doing.

Stalker and O'Neill ran in a semi-circle to the northeast, trying to keep distance from the ridge where the refugees hid for cover. Stalker stopped O'Neill, and pointed for him to set a position. Stalker was going to continue on. "How far are you going?" O'Neill asked.

"Not sure, I'll know it when I feel it. Don't worry, we'll stay in line of sight," O'Neill watched as Stalker moved off about forty yards to his north. The forest was thinner in this spot and allowed them both to see each other, and any Jaffa trying to sneak behind them.

During the night, Grandslam, Flash, and Breaker made Hawk nervous because they had taken some time to look the gate and its DHD over.

Breaker had looked at the keys. He saw it as a computer with letters shaped like constellations.

Flash and Breaker had removed one panel at the bottom of the DHD in an attempt to learn about the gate. Breaker's curiosity led him to examine the connections between the individual keys and the larger DHD computer, wondering aloud if it worked with systems similar to the standard binary code. He videotaped the system.

Flash was looking over the general wiring of the DHD, from what looked like a central processor into cables that ran directly to the gate. He did not recognize some of the materials used, but thought that they still functioned with positive and negative current, as well as grounding cable. Some of the hardware was made from the same quartz as the gate itself.

Grand Slam, always examining the latest in fanciful FTL theories, examined the cables, how they attached to the gate, and the gate itself. The three compared notes. They all knew that if there was a problem, Breaker would have to be the default gate expert because Grandslam and Flash would have important combat responsibilities.

Hawk had some concern they might break the DHD, but they had only removed a panel and it had worked when they checked in with the SGC. He knew they were the best at what they did which is why they were on his team, but none of them ever expected to be doing their jobs light-years from earth. Now Hawk hoped that this tinkering would pay off.

Breaker pulled out his video camera, "I have a recording of the where the keys go. You can push the missing keys like a keyboard that's missing the letter once we make sure the switches are all connected to the cpu."

"I really haven't had a chance to examine a DHD, but it looks like there is no power," said Carter, who quickly added, looking inside the panel, "It looks like the power is generated by this crystal. A surge from the shot must have burned it out." She held it up for the others to see it.

Carter was surprised to see Breaker pull out a soldering torch. Breaker ducked inside the panel and began to work on the keys, welding cable to the back side of the keyboard from inside the DHD. In the meantime, Flash came over to Carter, "What do we need to get this working?"

"We need a power source, you don't suppose one of these laser-rifles can do it?" asked Carter.

"Too bad it doesn't work on double-A batteries, I think my laser would do more harm than good," Flash answered.

Carter and Flash could not get to the power source while Breaker was reconnecting the keys. There was only one panel that led to both the keys and the power source, so only one person could have access at a time. But even if they did have access, what could they do?

As they pondered this question, Hawk shouted, "Movement in the forest. West!" Hawk and Flash took up positions using ceremonial stones as cover. Grand Slam turned the Hal toward the west. Teal'c, and Daniel, both using the DHD for cover tuned their staff weapons also in that direction.

Then it hit Carter as she aimed her staff weapon. She called out to Daniel, stunning Breaker who, like a mechanic working on a car, jumped and bumped his head when she yelled. "Ask Teal'c about the power source for these staff weapons. It's crystalline. I've examined one back on earth. Will it work with the DHD."

Daniel asked Teal'c. After they had spoken, Daniel told her that Teal'c did not know.

Breaker also responded, "I don't know, but it looks like the keys are connected to the cpu." He got up and took a firing position as Carter ducked her head into the panel.

The forest to the west erupted in a firefight.

Shortfuze spoke to Grand Slam, "I thought you said they were an hour off, it's only been half that."

Hawk responded, "Must be a scouting party that was under the forest. Probably not very many troops, yet. Grand Slam, fire the Hal into those trees."

Teal'c watched as the laser cannon turned on its axis and fired into the forest, again shattering trees. Clutch followed suit in his Vamp by turning the vehicles twin .50 caliber machine guns into the forest. Teal'c had seen these Tauri in battle before, but only with small arms that surrounded the gate in the gateroom on their home world. He recognized that their artillery rivaled anything the Goa'uld could field in terms of ground forces.

Hawk turned over to the DHD to see Carter come out from the open panel. "Daniel, give it a try." Dr. Jackson began pressing buttons, finishing with the big red one in the center. They all could see the DHD had power, but the gate did nothing.

After the brief firefight, Flash shouted to Breaker, "I didn't finish checking the conduits between the DHD and the gate."

Breaker checked the wiring and saw it had been shot up. "The wire's split. Unplug the power." Carter got back into the panel and pulled the crystal. Breaker did not want to get fried by an alien version of electricity.

He tried to splice the wires, but they weren't long enough. Captain Carter came to his side with her staff weapon and pulled out wiring. "My guess is that if we get it working, it will only be good for one dial-up. I don't think the wires from this staff weapon can handle this much power."

Breaker looked at Dr. Jackson. "Bring your staff weapon over here." Once again Breaker set to soldering wires. Dr. Jackson went back to the DHD, impatiently waiting there, ready to dial. Carter went back to the panel.

"I think we've got it," shouted Breaker. Captain Carter responded by ducking her head back into the panel. The crystal from one staff weapon could power the DHD, but there had been no real way to test if the crystal could power the gate unless everything else worked.

"Go!" shouted Captain Carter, and Daniel once again set about dialing the gate.

As Daniel pushed the first button the gate lit up and it spun. Carter jumped out of the panel as sparks flew from inside the panel. Daniel continued pressing keys. "The crystal blew!" announced Carter.

Jackson looked at the gate and saw that every time he touched a key, the gate lit up and went around in the usual circle. Breaker shouted, "Keep going, it might work like a car!" Daniel pressed the central red globe, and the gate swirled into the pool of water they were all hoping for.

Hawk questioned Captain Carter, "How long will it stay open?"

"We've never tried to find out. An alternator does not need a battery to run, just to start."

"Let's get going then. Breaker, tell the SGC were coming through hot, and with the refugees."

"Roger wilco, boss," responded Breaker to the order.

"Carter, I want you, Jackson and Teal'c to go first! You three are most critical to the program."

"Yes sir!" saluted Carter without question, though she did not know if she believed the colonel.

Jackson was not so quick to comply. "I came here for my wife. I don't want to leave here without her."

"Jackson! We came here with twenty men and women. We are going home with seventeen. I don't want to leave without anyone else, now go!"

Teal'c stood next to Jackson as Daniel dropped his head, knowing Hawk was right. He watched as refugees came down from their spot on the ridge and moved past him toward the gate. He slowly moved toward the gate with Teal'c when they heard a loud noise and then an explosion.

"Glider!" someone shouted, Daniel did not know who. Some refugees continued to the gate. Some stopped where they were and fell to the ground. Others remained on the ridge with Kowalski, Casey and Zap.

"Go!" Hawk yelled at Jackson, and Jackson followed the refugees through the gate. _Fourteen to go_, thought Hawk. He would keep track of all of them until the last one went through the gate. Fourteen, he did not have the luxury of assuming Scarlett, Snakeyes and Shooter would make it. He would be happy to count them _if_ they came, but for now they were on their own.

As the glider attacked, reinforcements from the city arrived. They renewed the attack on the path to the south of the gate. Emboldened by the new arrivals, the Jaffa in both the forest to the north and west renewed their attack.

"Get these people going, he yelled into his radio. Grand Slam, focus on the western front. Steeler on the north. Shortfuze on the southwest. Clutch you fire into the west as well." He looked up to see Casey loading another AA rocket into his launcher.

Then something else caught Hawk's eye. Teal'c had not gone through the gate. Teal'c stood calmly firing his staff weapon into the sky as the glider made another run. Hawk and Flash joined him with their laser rifles. Surrounded by the enemy, with air power pressing in, the three fired at the glider. Once again the pilot escaped with his craft in tact.

The suppressive artillery was working. The glider flew off into the distance. Once again, splintered trees, explosions, and presumably, casualties slowed the Jaffa barrage. Stray shots fired from various locations, only to be met by artillery. The Joes were not taking any chances. They wanted to go home, and it was only a few feet away.

Kowalski ran down the sandy ridge with the last of the refugees. Along the way they got the frightened refugees going. They pulled, poked, prodded and carried everyone they could.

The last of the refugees went through the gate. Hawk noticed as Teal'c stood staring at the hills to the east. One man stood on the ridge above them, with a staff weapon raised over his head. Hawk turned to Teal'c and watched as he too, took his staff weapon in his hand and raised it over his head in response to the man in the distance.

Hawk knew what he had to do. He radioed O'Neill and the rest of the Joes. "All the refugees are through the gate. Pull back to the gate now. O'Neill, take charge. There are thirteen of you left."

Hawk did not like the position he was in, but one Jaffa was more valuable than the whole expedition. He did not like that this would be his job, and that it meant taking himself out of the firefight. He lowered his shoulder and with all his might he charged the giant Jaffa and tackled him into the pool, feeling a pain in his shoulder as his face got wet.

Flash watched Hawk disappear into the pool. Flash now radioed Clutch in his Vamp, "Your turn, just like the plan." Clutch drove his jeep onto the ramp and made the sharp turn necessary to drive his jeep and the Flak it was pulling through the gate. Shortfuze jumped off the Flack to help provide small arms cover for the rest of the expedition still retreating. While Clutch and the Vamp disappeared, Shortfuze and Flash took up positions on either side of the gate while Breaker took cover behind the DHD.

Flash ran to Breaker and tapped him on the shoulder, "Next to Captain Carter, you know more about these DHD's than any of us, your next."

Kowalski had taken a position next to Breaker and added, "He's right, and if I say it, that makes it an order." So Breaker complied with the major and the laser rifleman and dove for the vertical pool, and disappeared.

Stalker and O'Neill moved slowly back to the ridge near to the same location as Zap and Casey. Grunt moved to the edge of the forest along the path opposite of Rock'n'Roll's position. Steeler began to drive the MoBaT into position to enter the gate hauling the Hal.

Stalker watched from the ridge as Steeler drove the tank up the ramp, and then listened as again the alien fighter made another run at them. "Let's go!" he shouted. Zap, Casey, Stalker, O'Neill and Grunt all made a run for it while Rock'n'Roll remained at the path to provide cover.

As the glider dove in on the gate, this time Grand Slam poured laser fire into the ship, causing it to smoke. It veered and got off one more round before it fell in the forest with an explosion.

The Joes and the remaining SGC personnel hit the ground as this time the glider found its mark, hitting the Hal and causing shrapnel from the cannon to fly. Shortfuze picked himself up and ran to the Hal and yelled to Steeler, "Get going!"

Shortfuze saw Grand Slam slump over. He propped him in his seat and held him there as Steeler took the tank through the gate. He noticed blood pouring from Grand Slam's uniform and kept him in place. The tank and all three Joes disappeared into the pool with the Hal.

Without the big cannons, the Jaffa got bold one last time and fired from all three positions. Flash fired into the western front. Kowalski shot to the north. Zap and Casey made it to the base of the gate without trouble.

Grunt went down. One of the staff weapon blasts the ground in front of him, flinging dirt into his eyes.

Stalker noticed it and ran to help as O'Neill continued to the gate. He got Grunt up. Rock'n'Roll roared to them on the Ram. Stalker helped Grunt onto the seat behind Rock'n'Roll while he climbed on the machine gun sidecar. It was not really a seat, but it would do.

Then, with another loud roar, the Joes looked up into the sky to see one more alien ship coming. This one was not like the gliders that had been harassing them, but like the larger ship that fled and disappeared earlier.

Rock'n'Roll shouted out, "Let's not wait around for more reinforcements." He revved the motor and took off on the last ride toward the gate.

The Jaffa continued firing on the gate. Several Jaffa approached the ridge above the gate to the east.

O'Neill turned to Zap, "Get ready to give them our surprise."

Zap pulled out a box with a switch, and held it ready for O'Neill's order. Just then a random shot hit Casey. Kowalski and Zap moved to assist Casey.

The alien ship flew toward the gate. It lowered itself to the west between the gate and the western forest with its rear facing the gate.

Stalker got off the sidecar, grabbing Rock'n'Roll's M-60 Machine gun. Then Rock'n'Roll drove his motorcycle right into the gate with Grunt hanging on.

O'Neill, Flash and Stalker moved to cover the others, aiming their weapons at the alien aircraft. As a hatch on the ship opened up O'Neill heard the word he longed to hear, "O'Neir."

Stalker yelled, "Snakeyes!" Skaara and Snakeyes were carrying Sha'uri, each with an arm around their necks.

More fire erupted, this time from within the cargo ship. The ship lurched into air and came down hard to the ground. O'Neill heard a woman scream.

Stalker yelled to Snakeyes, "Get these two through the gate. Flash and I will provide cover."

Kowalski and Zap reached the gate first with Casey. Kowalski spoke to Zap, "You got him?"

"Yeah," he responded.

"Then go, I'll stay and help the Joes provide cover." Zap tossed the detonator to Kowalski and took Casey through the gate. Snakeyes followed closely with Skaara and Sha'uri, who had begun to fight the them.

Scarlett felt the pain. _It shouldn't hurt this much. _Her mind went foggy. _Smoke, _but no trouble breathing._ Explosions, _but no heat from the fire. So much pain, but she clawed her way forward, dragging herself. She saw someone enter the burning wreckage. She saw her own bloody fingers.

While on the floor she felt death. It was unnatural, like something evil was clinging to life, only fighting the inevitable. Then it changed, like in a dream she heard the words, _I die free._ She felt sad, pitiful, like watching a child die.

She felt a man pick her up. He carried her in front as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked at the collar and saw a bird. _Hawk. This is not how it's supposed to happen. _

They exited the ship.

Now! she seemed to hear, but _she should not hear anyone. _Her eyes hurt from the sunlight. She saw that they were moving toward water. She had the sensation of a clumsy fall toward the pool. _This is supposed to graceful, powerful, gentle. _It was not. It was harsh, uncouth, almost bumbling compared to her expectation- -compared to her experience. It was just as courageous. She held on tight to the man's neck.

She heard the cascading explosions.

She looked at the water. She could not wait for the cooling sensation to ease her pain. She hurt in too many places, and then-_Splash_.


	6. Colorado

As he felt the strange sensation of rematerializing on the other side of the gate, Hawk felt the pain of hitting the ground. While he was hoping Teal'c would break his fall, the armor he was wearing caused its own pain. His shoulder hurt.

Hawk looked up and saw a beautiful face. _Where did we gate to?_ The woman had bobbed red hair and wore a green jumpsuit that an armor specialist might wear. Dr. Jackson and Captain Carter jarred his attention from the welcoming sight.

"Colonel, are you all right?" asked Jackson.

"What's going on?" asked Carter.

"Let me help you, Colonel," stated the woman. He finally noticed the name "Krieger" on her lapel.

"Let's get out of the way, the last jeep and the MoBaT will be coming next," moaned Hawk, who strained to breath amidst the pain.

Teal'c was up quickly and was staring at the Colonel, ignoring everything, and everyone around them. He began shouting and speaking demonstrably, moving his arms with visible rage. Armed soldiers moved into position to fire on the angry enemy combatant. Daniel began speaking with him in questioning tones, while also reassuring the soldiers. They all quickly moved to the right of the gate, Teal'c staring the whole way, still furious.

The woman, however, ran to the left side of the gate. _Krieger she was on the flight from Jersey._ As Hawk finished the thought, Clutch drove the Vamp out of the gate and onto the ramp. Hawk saw the Flak was empty. Shortfuze was all soldier, and would do his best to see the others come home. _12 left_.

Clutch stopped after the Flak cleared the ramp. "Out, soldier!" yelled pfc Krieger. "I'll take it from here".

Clutch could not resist, "Are you my welcoming committee?"

"No," she responded as Clutch got out. She jumped into the Vamp and smartly quipped to Clutch, "No, I'm your red-headed, step-child in overalls, grease-monkey chick with a wrench! Whatever that means." Clutch looked as if he had been caught, and then Krieger shoved his rifle at him. "If it comes through that gate and you don't know who it is, shoot it!"

Clutch's face turned red. Several of the Joes had tried to shush him on the plane to Colorado Springs as he was berating the female mechanic, but he liked to run his mouth. And now he was in trouble.

Krieger moved the jeep away from the gate. As she did, medical teams who had been attending to refugees began attending to the Joes and the SGC personnel who had most recently come through the gate.

Then someone fell through the gate. Clutch ran up the ramp to see it was Breaker. He helped the discombobulated Breaker over to the right of the gate where Carter, Jackson, Teal'c and Hawk were waiting. _11._

Breaker and Clutch overheard the doctor talking to Hawk, "It's separated, after everyone's through we'll get you to the infirmary and get this shoulder x-rayed and scanned."

"I don't want it any sooner than that…" Hawk saw his name, "Dr. Greer." The mild African-American doctor nodded and smiled. _This is right where I want to be, _smiled the doc to himself.

Hawk and the others heard a commotion over their headpieces. Hawk clearly heard Shortfuze say, "Get going!"

The armored tank began to emerge from the pool, armor, tracks, turret, and then Steeler followed by the rest of his MoBaT. He pulled through slowly and yelled, "We need medical attention!"

Next the front of the Hal materialized. It was damaged. Shortfuze was on the Hal holding Grand Slam in place. Dr. Greer ran to the Hal as Steeler rolled off the ramp. He was joined by a petite woman. Hawk noticed that Greer was an army doc, while the woman was definitely Air Force. Sgt. Warren helped the medics and Shortfuze lower Grand Slam onto a stretcher. Clutch and Breaker walked over to the stretcher and saw that Grand Slam was unconscious. _8_ left, though one of those who made it was seriously injured.

Finally the Air Force woman told Dr. Greer that she would take the patient. "I will wait for the rest," he responded, knowing that with more shooting, there could be more injuries.

Hawk thought about the combat positions. O'Neill, Grunt, Stalker, and Rock'n'Roll had the furthest to go.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by Teal'c and Dr. Jackson as they approached him. But before they could address him they all hear the cry, "Grunt's down." Hawk felt anxiety that he was not there, but Stalker was. It did not take away the angst, but if anyone would do something, it would be Stalker.

Teal'c was no longer angry. Dr. Jackson was just about to speak when they heard, "Enemy ship," followed by "hold your fire." Hawk could barely stand it, but he looked at the two men in front of him.

"Teal'c wanted to apologize," said Dr. Jackson sheepishly.

"Why?" asked Hawk.

"He was mad that you had attacked him and shoved him through the gate. He did not understand why you had done that."

"I'm not so sure myself."

"We overheard Clutch and Breaker talking about why Breaker came through the gate alone. I explained their conversation. Teal'c wanted to stay and fight, but he understands now why you did it, even though he might not agree."

"It was a choice. I felt it was the best choice, even though I did not like it myself."

Jackson and Teal'c carried on a short conversation. "He says he might have done the same thing himself."

With that, Rock'n'Roll came through the gate on the motorcycle with Grunt holding tight on to his back. He jerked the bike at the last minute to avoid the Hal, which pfc Krieger was just now pulling away in the MoBaT.

Steeler grabbed his laser-rifle and his uzi and moved over to the left side of the gate. Greer and Hawk ran to Rock'n'Roll and Grunt. Dr. Greer looked closely at him but before he could pronounce a prognosis, Hawk, and all the SGC personnel heard Stalker yell on their radios, "Snakeyes!" Hawk lost count of who was left.

Hawk ran to the ramp as Dr. Greer guided Grunt over to the Air Force gate technician, Master Sgt. Siler, to walk him to the infirmary.

"I think you'll be alright, but we'll need to make sure," ordered the doctor.

"I'll take care of him, doc," replied Siler.

Then, another splash. Joes and SGC personnel alike gasped, guffawed, and cheered as Snakeyes and Skaara seemingly glided out of the pool with a beautiful woman's arms draped around their shoulders. Jackson, Hawk, Carter, Teal'c , and Greer all ran to meet them.

But before they reached them, the woman threw Skaara down. Snakeyes, however, lowered himself to the ground while maintaining a grasp on Sha'uri's arm. As he fell, he twirled around in a lightning move in front of her, spread his legs out like scissors and pinched the bottom of her right leg with his. His right knee went to the back of her knee while his left leg held her ankle/shin steady. She buckled from the move and went down.

Rather than tackle her, Hawk and the others pointed their laser rifles directly at her. Teal'c said something that Daniel did not translate, nor Skaara. Sha'uri gave up fighting, and slowly got up, as SGC marines pointing their weapons at her, taking custody from the Joes.

After the Joes took Sha'uri down, Zap brought a wounded Sgt. Casey through the gate. The medical personnel ran to meet them.

The Joes surrounded Snakeyes and said things like, "I knew you would make it," and "Never count old Snake' out". Marines took Sha'uri away with Daniel trailing right behind them. Skaara was torn, but he waited by the gate for O'Neill and the others. He would see Sha'uri again, but he was anxious about those still on the other side of the gate.

At this moment Hawk noticed General Hammond for the first time. He was behind the gate control area, on the radio. Several airmen, and Hawk thought marines, surrounded him as he gave orders. One airman with noticeable white hair sat at a computer in front of Hammond feverishly typing. They were too far away for Hawk to identify anyone with Hammond.

Hawk over-heard Greer say to some medics, prep this one for surgery, I'll be there once the rest are through. He liked Greer. Several Joes congratulated Casey for making it through the gate. Then they tried to encourage him saying things like, "ole doc'll pull you through", and "you're strong, you'll come out of this better than ever." They knew it could have just as easily been them and some of them were uncomfortable with the combination of his bad luck, and their good luck.

Hawk turned his attention to Snakeyes. Skaara was explaining that something had happened in the ship (_They got the ship?_ thought Hawk) while Scarlett, Hon'Teck, and Apophis were still on board. Hawk quickly ran through who was left in his mind: _Scarlett, Stalker, O'Neill, Flash, Kowalski_,…

As he was running through his list he saw Scarlett's blue and tan jumpsuit, as well as her unmistakable red hair. O'Neill carried her in his arms, she appeared to be semi-conscious. She was injured.

Stalker, Flash and Kowalski came through the gate almost simultaneously. "Close the gate," it was Kowalski who had given the order. The white haired Air Force technician seated in front of Hammond typed furiously. A metal frame closed, covering the vertical pool. They heard one loud thud from the other side of the frame, and then they all heard a swoosh. The gate, and the portal to the far away planet that had been their home for the past 24 hours plus was now closed, and they were home.

Medics brought a gurney up to Colonel O'Neill, but Snakeyes walked right past them. He securely, and gently lifted Scarlett from the struggling O'Neill. Snakeyes nodded his head, and turned away, ignoring the medics. Greer did stop him. He would not be opposed.

"Let me take a quick look at her." Snakeyes paused. "Bruise on her forehead, deformity to the left forearm. Nothing else visible." Greer looked at the silent, masked soldier. "Follow these medics, they will take you to the ETC where we can check her more thoroughly."

Scarlett roused. It was her first lucid moment since the ship had jerked. "Snakeyes," she said in a moan. Then she added, "My left knee is killing me."

"We'll check that out." Greer looked over at a nurse who was now standing with the medics. She had a paper chart ready for his orders. "Do a major panel. X-ray the wrist and left knee. We will need at least a CT of her head, and depending on the x-rays, we may need to MRI the knee, but that can wait. We need to know if she has a head-bleed. I'm going to do exploratory on Sergeant Casey while we do these tests on her."

As they moved away, the rest of the Joes, SG-1, and SG-2, as well as the support personnel under the tent, and General Hammond all gathered. Hawk stepped away from the crowd up the ramp toward the empty gate, which now only showed a tent wall. He stared into the empty space. O'Neill walked up beside him and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry we had to leave her behind."

"She wasn't ready and I should have known it. I believed we could help her by sending her on a mission, but I'm afraid I got her killed."

"You don't know that, she seems like she was good at hiding and keeping her eyes open. Maybe we can get back to her."

"We may have to, but I don't want to risk anyone else on my mistake." O'Neill just stood there. Hawk was feeling guilty. He would recover, and be the better for his mistake. But what consequences would it have.

"O'Neir," Skaara said slowly and softly, "where is Hon'Teck…and Apophis?"

O'Neill turned around and noticed the celebration had ceased. Everyone was staring at him, including Hammond. "They're both dead. I looks like Apophis was carrying a weapon and he used it to shoot Hon'Teck. Hon'Teck turned around and before he died, he killed Apophis."

Skaara bowed his head. It was Hon'Teck who had joined Scarlett in saving him and Sha'uri. Hon'Teck had revived him in the sarcophagus. Together, they had taken out the landing port's guards and captured the shuttle, Apophis, and rescued Sha'uri. He looked at the soldiers around him. He looked up, and yelled, "Behold, Hon'Teck, Slayer of Apophis." Then he spoke it again in his own language for Teal'c.

Teal'c understood and added to the song, which Skaara then translated, "Behold, Hon'Teck, the first Jaffa who could truly say, 'I die free!'"

* * *

Two days later… Hawk stood at the gate, staring at the pool of water. He was joined by General Hammond who stood quietly for a few moments. Then he asked, "Any sign?"

"No. We've checked every couple of hours for two days. No radio response."

"I'm sorry, Colonel."

"I'd like to keep trying for a couple more days."

"That would be fine. Right now we have a meeting to attend."

Hawk came head of the table in the briefing room overlooking the stargate. Doctor Janet Fraiser handed Hawk a list.

"Here is the list of casualties from the mission: from SG-1-Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson are both still in the infirmary with concussions. They will be released today. Captain Carter has mild burns on her hands from the blown crystal in the DHD; from SG-2- Sgt Casey was wounded in the abdomen by staff weapon fire. His recovery is still in progress and he is expected to return to duty after a few months.

From my team, I am embarrassed to say I received a separated shoulder: Stalker, Grunt and Snakeyes all received cuts from bushes and alien bug bites. They will be released from isolation today. Grunt also got dust flung in his eyes that was cleaned out upon arrival. Snakeyes received additional cuts and scrapes and contusions. Don't ask me how he got them. Scarlett received the same cuts and bruises as the others, in addition to a concussion, a broken wrist, and a torn acl. She'll need months and intense pt to get back into active duty, if she ever can. The worst injuries were to Grand Slam who had his spleen removed, a bowel resection, and 3rd degree burns to 25% of his body, mostly on his abdomen. He may never return to duty. The only other casualty is Shooter, aka Sergeant First Class Jamie Craig, who is MIA, and presumed lost. She will be reported lost on an emergency aid mission to Kosovo."

Everyone was silent except for sighs. He looked around the table. General Hammond chaired the meeting. Brigadier General Larry Flagg had flown in from Washington to participate. Also present were Captain Everett Colby from the Navy, Lt. Col Mark Morgan from area 51 and the Air Force Space Command, Air Force Major Paul Davis who was to be the Pentagon's liaison officer to the SGC, along with Stalker and Master Sgt. Walter Harriman. Usually Scarlett would help Hawk with his briefings, but Hammond had loaned Hawk Harriman to help.

Harriman passed out the notes and Hawk went over the entire experience. The evaluation led to lessons learned. Hawk took the lesson one step further. Having interviewed Teal'c, he believed that the Goa'uld would adjust tactics, and so they would need to be more proactive because the Jaffa would be there to greet them. Hammond added that Teal'c, and possibly Skaara would both be used as field advisors, for SG teams. The final arrangements had not been worked out, though O'Neill had asked that both join SG-1.

Larry Flagg interjected, "Before we get into your specific ideas here Hawk, these men are here to discuss a more general plan to defend this planet. As Colonel O'Neill continues to insist, these aliens have ships and we need to address this."

"Thank you, General," said Lt. Col. Morgan. "I'd like to start if that's okay." No one objected. "We have two anti-ship programs in development. First we have project Prometheus. In the late 1970s an alien spacecraft crashed in the northern China Sea, and we recovered it, developing the technology into an armed space cruiser."

"That sounds like a cover story, to keep the Stargate program under wraps," said General Hammond.

"It may sound like it, but it's true. The other program is the Defiant armed orbital platform. Both programs are years off, so we need something more immediate. Any ideas?" posed the Colonel.

Captain Colby made his request, "The Navy is looking to purchase some of these new Skystrikers so that we can use our carriers as defense platforms in case of air attacks. In addition, I would also like to volunteer the SEALs to join both the SGC, and the Joe team, as well as the Marine Force Recon."

"Thank you Captain," responded General Hammond.

"I don't think I can help with the more immediate air defense needs," added Major Davis, "though Colonel Morgan may not be aware of all the Air Force's special projects."

"I am aware of a couple," added Flagg. "I've had my eye on several of them. The Conquest X-30 fighter may be more maneuverable than a Skystriker. Mars Industries is working on converting a Blackbird into a fighter craft, but they are both still years out."

Hawk interrupted, "We're working with Mars Inc."…

"McCullen is the best at this experimental stuff," interjected Flagg.

"But to make his money for research into these eccentric sci-fi weapons, he starts wars and then sells weapons on both sides. I've seen the intel, this guy is a creep."

"This isn't my decision," added Flagg.

"I won't be any part of it. I don't want any of his weapons," retorted Hawk fiercely.

"I'll note that," replied Flagg. And then he added, "You won't get any, but someone will. Now, let's get back to the business at hand."

Major Davis again began, "We also have the Phantom project, which is a hyper-sonic stealth fighter. Again, it's a few years out. Then there is the Vector project. We are not too far into this one, so I think we can modify the parameters so that the Vector can become an effective gate transported fighter."

Hawk could not stand it any longer, "These are all nice, but we need to go on the offensive now. These Goa'uld know we are out there and we cannot be caught with our pants down."

Flagg responded, "How about a VTOL, called the Sky Hawk, that will be ready in around a year?"

"That's better."

"It's an experimental jet propelled craft, but it'll fit through the gate. We can mount it with whatever firepower you want. It's more suited for air-to-ground combat, but I think it might have air-to-air applications."

The naval captain added, "We are almost finished with a prototype project we are calling, 'Sharc'. It will have minimal airborne capabilities, but it will have some. It is designed to conduct operations under water in the same way a plane can fly in the air. We'll get one ready for you."

Harriman spoke for the first time, "I've run a search of the military vehicle database, and if you can pull it through, a Bell Cobra could fit through the gate intact. Then it could take off once it clears the gate."

"Great, now we're getting somewhere. Thanks Sgt. Here is something else I have in mind. So far we have used a Malp to transfer data and camera-in on a planet. What if we armed one?"

Flagg stopped him, "That project already exists, and we can have it at your disposal within weeks. There are several models, they are called Pac Rats. Both you and the SGC can begin training with them within a month."

"Great," Hawk added. "In a pinch, we could use these Malps to secure the gate, use a MoBaT to pull the he-lo through, and bam, we are air mobile. There is another logistical problem I would like to address." Every one grunted or nodded. "This stargate can't be in a field under a tent every time we need vehicles on the other side of the gate, and this missile silo just isn't going to work."

"What are you suggesting?" asked General Hammond.

"We need someplace underground, out of sight of satellites, but able to accommodate a mobile unit."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. They all looked at Colonel Morgan from Area 51, but it was Flagg who responded, "I think I can help there. There's an old abandoned underground military base in Utah. I think we can do most of the work to get it ready at night, and then bring the gate there."

"Where in Utah?" asked Major Davis.

"Just outside a small town called Millville. I think it will be a perfect site. It'll take about a year to be ready."

"In the meantime," noted General Hammond matter of factly, "we will just have to use the tent if we need to. Then we can move the gate there." No one seemed thrilled with the timetable, but they were all practical men. "Is there anything else?"

Hawk looked at the rest. "I think there's just one more thing for this group. We will need to be able to fortify and hold a gate position indefinitely at some point, and with better AA. Any ideas?"

Stalker added, "We will need to surround the gate, and the DHD, at whatever distance they might be separated."

Flagg responded thoughtfully, "I'll work on that. We've been working on a light but sturdy polymer that could be designed to be carried and assembled, then disassembled. You and your teams, both the Joes and SGC could be in on the design process."

"Sounds good," said General Hammond. "Well, good luck and godspeed to all of you, we are going to need it." Then everyone rose, uneasy that they still did not have a good plan to defend the planet if a ship came to earth.

Hawk stopped General Flagg, "I still need to talk to you."

"About what, Colonel?"

"Personnel."

"What do you need?"

"It sounds like I'm going to be getting added firepower, and the personnel to man it. I'm going to need to set up a B-Team company command unit."

Flagg nodded, "Do you have anyone in mind?"

"For the most part, no one in particular. It sounds like I'll be getting a SEAL, and a marine. I need another combat engineer."

"Pick one."

"Okay, I'm also going to want my own chopper pilot, preferably one with field experience."

"Keep going."

"I'll need another sniper."

"Hmm, I think I can do that for you. There's a guy who competed for the U.S. Winter Olympics Biathlon team. He joined the army and instead of appeasing the pr guys, he wants into Special Ops."  
"Is he good?"

"Find out for yourself, I'll get you his info and set up a time for you to watch him train."

"Thanks."  
"Colonel," interrupted General Hammond.

"Yes."

"Since we are going to be working together, I think it would be wise to have a liaison officer. One who is a pilot, but with ground SF combat training."

"Sounds great. I'm guessing he would be at least a Captain, so he would also function as my company XO."

"Great. I interviewed a young man a couple of days ago who would be great in the role, I'll send him your way."

"General, you have one other guy I want," said Hawk, trying not to plead.

"Who?"

"Greer. I want him on my team."

Both Flagg and Hammond looked at Hawk. It was unusual for such a small unit to have a surgeon, but Hammond liked Hawk's boldness. "He's yours, I'll have Harriman draw up the paperwork this afternoon."

"Thanks." Then Hawk turned over to General Flagg. "What's going to happen to the pfc who helped us modify the MoBaT?"

"I'm guessing by the tone in your voice she's going to end up in your unit."

"Thanks, she's good with ordnance, and has an idea about how to bring an MLRS into the field."

"Okay, consider it done, anyone else?"

"You know who."

Flagg sighed. He looked at his feet, and then the ceiling. "We tried. He doesn't want to leave his unit-a unit he trained."

"I think once he finds out what we've got in this stargate, he'll come on board. He's the best Top Kick in the business. Then he can train this team."

Flagg sighed again. "I think the best way to get him is to approach him yourself this time. He might bite if he sees you're the man he'll answer to in the field."

"I'll get him."

"I'm gonna owe Houser's CO big time if he does sign on."

With that, Hawk and Flagg left the SGC conference room with their work cut out for them.

* * *

O'Neill and Daniel knocked, and were told they could come in. They both had headaches still from the wacks on they had taken from the Jaffa, but Dr. Fraiser had cleared them to leave. There were three people in the room: Dr. Greer, Scarlett—the patient, and a man in the chair next to her bed. He had on a fishing hat, all green, with sun-glasses, and what looked like a glossy film on his face.

O'Neill noticed, but looked away quickly. He was the first to speak, "How's she doin', doc?"

"She'll recover," Greer responded, adding, "but how much is up to her. We still have to fix that knee. The wrist and the head bleed were enough for now."

O'Neill nodded in approval. "Somehow, I think your recovery will not be a problem."

"No," said Scarlett, "just work. Nothing I'm afraid of."

Dr. Greer stopped and approached Dr. Jackson. "Dr. Jackson, I understand that these Goa'uld have a device that somehow regenerates life."

"If you're referring to the sarcophagus, yeah. I've been through it, I put Sha'uri in it, and I guess on that last trip that Skaara was brought back to life."

"Listen, here's why I bring it up. Sha'uri has this snake in her neck. We're bringing in the best neurosurgeon in the country from Johns Hopkins to look her over, but so far things are not looking promising. If we try to remove the symbiote, as Mr. Teal'c calls it, we will kill her. But if…"

"But if you can't keep her alive, then maybe the sarcophagus can," interrupted Daniel.

"That's our only hope as of right now, medically speaking."

"Then that sounds like our mission priority," announced O'Neill.

"No," said Jackson softly.

"What's that?"

"She can't be the priority. If we run into the Goa'uld again, we will likely find a sarcophagus. But if there's one thing I've learned from these Joes, the larger mission must come first-even at my personal expense."

"Daniel."

"Jack."

"We don't leave anyone behind, even if they are here." O'Neill contorted his face at the irony his own comment.

"That's the point Jack. Sha'uri is here, and we can help her. But we may not have time to focus on that, and defeat the Goa'uld."

Scarlett interrupted, "It is a piece of alien technology that can tell us about them. It's intel, so you're both right. If we get the chance to take one, we should."

O'Neill looked at the doc, then Jackson, then Scarlett. She was looking at the man in the chair next to her. She thoughtfully questioned the doc, "Does it have more subtle applications? Healing burn scars for instance."

Dr. Jackson answered, "I think the Goa'uld use it to regenerate the human bodies they inhabit for millennia. It's got to have some healing properties."

"I'd like to see the diagnostic matrix. It probably puts an MRI to shame," posed Greer. "I can't guarantee anything, but we can try anything."

They were silent for a moment. Dr. Greer said goodbye and left to attend to Sgt. Casey.

Then Scarlett spoke again, "I've been told that you were the one who rescued me from the alien shuttle."

"I did carry you out. You thought I was Hawk."

"I'm sorry, I've been through something similar before. A chopper crash, Snakeyes is the one who rescued me. I was a little loopy. I must have seen the bird on your collar and thought of Hawk." She turned her head and looked at the man sitting silently in the chair endearingly.

"You don't need to say anything else. Your welcome." Both O'Neill and Daniel were invited to take a seat, and they obliged.

"Yes, I do. I completely misjudged you. I thought you were reckless and irreverent, among other things."

"No, you didn't misjudge me. At least I hope not."

"All right, you're one of those. Any way, I also heard that Hon'Teck killed Apophis, but I've been going over in my mind how that happened, and I can't figure it out. I distinctly remember that Hon'Teck was still seated in his chair, facing the console."

"I'm not sure either, but as you said, you were a little loopy."

"No, it's not like you could have killed two gods," she said thoughtfully. "Hon'Teck, Slayer of Apophis. I like the sound of that."

Then O'Neill furrowed his brow. He pondered the man in the chair, realizing for the first time that it was Snakeyes without his black jumpsuit. He could stand it no longer. He had been curious about Snakeyes for days now.

He turned his head over to the quiet man and said, "So Snakeyes, tell me about yourself."

The end.


End file.
